


Into the Vortex - Episode 1: Space and time

by Wowser2004



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Bullying, Established Relationship, F/F, F/M, Fat Shaming, High School, Homophobia, M/M, Max is 14; Chloe & Rachel 15, Max's P.O.V., Slice of Life, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-29
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:06:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 40
Words: 46,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22962148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wowser2004/pseuds/Wowser2004
Summary: NOTE: DON'T READ; THIS FIC IS ABANDONED AND THE STORY GOES NOWHERE.When Max was eleven years old, a massive storm destroyed her hometown, Arcadia Bay. Four years later, she moved with her parents into the suburbs of Seattle and tries to start a new life at a new school.
Relationships: Mark Jefferson/Nathan Prescott, Rachel Amber & Maxine "Max" Caulfield & Chloe Price, Rachel Amber/Chloe Price, Victoria Chase/Taylor Christensen/Courtney Wagner
Comments: 6
Kudos: 43





	1. Chapter 1

**FALL 2015**

The first thing Max remembered was a muffled, loud, rumbling noise coming from outside, waking her up. The next thing, the raindrops, smashing on her window as she opened it. She was only eleven years old at that time. Her mind couldn't even comprehend seeing the big, dark tornado approaching from the sea, destroying everything in its path. A violent earthquake followed soon after, shaking her whole room. Max's instant camera, which her mom gifted her for her birthday, fell from the desk, smashed into thousand pieces on the ground. 

Then, the lights went out, and Max screamed and screamed until her throat was too dry. Max remembered that there was a light, blinding her. When she uncovered her eyes, she saw her dad's face. Her dad reached his arms to Max and approached her and said, "Maxine, everything is fine. Come here, it's me, Dad! Come! Don't be afraid!" 

The last thing Max saw was all the debris flying around, the streets full of cracks, the panicked screams, and a light on the horizon, getting brighter every second.

The last thing Max heard was her mom's voice screaming, "You found Max! Thank God! Get inside now, or this thing is gonna swallow us!"

* * *

**SUMMER 2019**

However, all that stuff doesn't matter to Max right now. She has to focus; today is going to be her first day at "The Vortex High School." A high school located in the suburbs of Seattle. Founded one year after the storm in Arcadia Bay, The Vortex offers many programs, like art and photography, aka the stuff that Max's loves.

It was already 7:36 AM, 24 minutes before her first day at school begins. Max ignored her phone alarm already two times, but the bedsheets were just so soft and squishy, way too comfortable. She hugged her drool soaked pillow tightly, thinking, _Not my fault! I told my mom not to change the bedsheets!_

"Maxine! Wake up! It's time for school!" Vanessa yelled from downstairs again. It was the third time; Max had to get out of bad now. 

_I wish I could rewind time. Just two more minutes, please!_ Max thought. 

Closing her eyes, Max yawned loudly and stretched her arms in the air. She then uncovered herself from her blanket. It was still morning and relatively fresh outside. Her body shivered as she got out of bed and walked to her mirror.

 _Good morning, zombie. Today is your first day at a new school._ Max looked down and saw her brown pajama shorts. _Hmm, I guess I can't go in my pajamas; better get changed._

Max rubbed the yellow stuff off her eyes and walked to her wardrobe. She rummaged through her stuff and decided to wear a plain white t-shirt and blue jeans.

__It's summer. If I wear any more, I'm probably gonna die!_ _

Max already put all her school books and utensils in her backpack last night, so she grabbed it, hung it over her back, and then began to walk out of her room. In front of the door, she suddenly froze. 

_Wait a moment! Max! You fool! You can't go without your keys and camera!_

Max turned around and eyeballed her room.

_Hmm, where could they be? I don't remember..._

Max looked at the white wall behind her bed. _My room would look so much better with photos hanging on the wall. I should print all the pictures from my camera and stick them on it!_

Looking at her desk, which was in front of the window, Max saw her camera. It was an old digital camera, which Max received from her mom as a gift. The camera was connected to her laptop because Max always makes backups of the pictures.

_Better safe than sorry. All my pretty selfies are on it!_


	2. Chapter 2

Max took a look at her phone and saw that it was already 7:39 AM.

_Wowsa! I gotta hurry up! It will take me fifteen minutes to cycle to school. I can't be late on my first day._

Max franticly looked around but then remembered that she put the keys inside her top desk drawer. She grabbed the keys and rushed downstairs.

 _I got my keys, camera, and my backpack,_ _time to face the day!_

Downstairs, Vanessa was standing in her kitchen, wrapping two pieces of tasty turkey sandwiches in aluminum foil. The radio was on too; it played a pop song about setting forests on fire and to love.

"Maxine! You're finally awake!" Vanessa said. She approached Max and hugged her gently. "How did you sleep? Have you had any nightmares again?"

Max shook her head in silence. Her mouth began to water when she smelled the turkey sandwich through the foil.

Vanessa started to smile and noticed Max's hungry look. "Oh yeah, these are for you, by the way. But don't eat them right away!"

Max nodded without a word and put the sandwiches in her backpack. "Thank you."

_My mouth is already watering; I'm definitely gonna eat one on my first break. My mom's sandwiches are so tasty! Maybe I should offer one to one of my new classmates? If someone takes a bite of it, he or she will want to be my best friend forever!_

Vanessa tapping her wristwatch, interrupted Max's dreamy state. "You better get going now. Math is gonna be your first class. Your teacher won't be happy if you're late."

Max rolled her eyes and smiled. "You're right, mom."

"And don't forget your helmet," Vanessa added as she kissed Max on her forehead. "You don't wanna hurt your beautiful head, right?

Max closed her eyes; she felt a lump growing in her throat. _I hope I can do this. What if I get another panic attack? My mom told me about all the techniques... but my mom won't be there! I'm gonna look like a fool! Everyone will think that I'm a freak!_

Max didn't even realize that her mom pulled her into a hug. Her mom's gently fingers were rubbing her shoulders, making Max feel much better.

"Do you remember what I told you last night?" Vanessa asked, letting go of Max.

Max stared at Vanessa with her mouth hanging open. "Uhh, breathe... like calm... and uhh," _damned, all I remember is crying into my mom's arms!_

Vanessa placed her right palm on her chest, taking deep breaths. "Take deep breaths, close your eyes, and think about something that makes you happy."

"Alright, mom. I understand. I love you," Max said. She noticed that the song on the radio stopped and that the radio speaker said its 7:45AM. "Oh, crap, Mom! I'm gonna go now! Thanks for the sandwiches!"

Vanessa nodded with a big grin on her face as she watched Max sprinting out of the house at lightning speed. Max's bicycle, a small, old mountain bike, was waiting right outside, ready to be ridden anywhere Max wanted. Yes, Max has a mountain bike. It was small, almost child size, but Max was only five feet and five inches tall, and so it fit perfectly for her. It was her dad's idea, Ryan. With Max's panic attacks and her new high school only two miles away, they figured it's the best idea to get a bicycle for Max.

Max unlocked her bike lock and drove off to The Vortex High school. _I can do this. My mom said that she will always be there for me! And she even made two sandwiches for me_! Max thought as the headwind blasted through her shoulder-length brown hair.


	3. Chapter 3

Max's heart began to hammer as she increased her pace. The hot summer sun rose on the horizon, causing a film of sweat to form on Max's forehead. Luckily, the wind cooled down her whole face. But sadly, when Max saw her reflection on a passing bus, she realized that she forgot her helmet.

Max stopped on the sidewalk, thinking, _I better get my helmet; I don't feel safe like this. Like my mom always aid, better be late than dead._ She turned around and cycled back home. Her mom was standing in front of the door, holding her helmet in her hands. 

"Thank you, mom, love you!" Max yelled at her mom as she grabbed her helmet. She put on her helmet, tightening the straps, before riding off with a happy smile.

The roads were filled with SUVs, parents heading to work, and bringing their kids to school. When a big, white Lexus closely overtook her, Max almost got a heart attack. She managed to get a look inside and saw a middle-aged woman on the driver's seat. Beside her, a blonde girl, around Max's age. She had a pixie haircut and was wearing a long pearl necklace. Two more young girls were sitting on the backseat, holding milkshake cups in their hands.

_Ugh, rich snobs. I hope they won't be in my classes._

Max turned right at the intersection, following the white Lexus. As she got closer to the school, traffic began to increase, slowing down to a crawl. She filtered through the cars and then felt her chest vibrating. It was loud and deep vroom vroom, coming from behind her. Max slowed down, and bunny hopped on the sidewalk when she heard an earsplitting screeching horn.

It was two girls, sitting on an old, green, rusty moped. They were filtering through the traffic at a dangerously fast pace. Max covered her ears tight as the loud moped roared past her. She noticed that the driver had bright, blue hair and a tattoo, which covered her whole right arm. Sitting behind her, all that Max could see was a girl with blonde, long hair, and something blue, looking like a feather hanging from her left ear.

_Hmm, I guess these are the cool girls in the school? Yep, and I'm the loser. Whatever, I need to hurry up now. Seven minutes until classes start... Woah!_

Max covered her mouth in shock when she heard tires screeching. It was the mopeds rear wheel locking up because the white Lexus turned a little right, blocking the two girls on the moped from passing. 

_Wowsers, they should probably wear a helmet... or maybe slow down at least..._

The blonde, longhaired girl clung on the bluenette and screamed, "Move, bitch! Get outta the way!"

Max continued carefully riding along the sidewalk. She then saw that the front passenger window opened. 

"Hey, you two rowdies! Lane splitting is illegal in Washington state!" an adult voice yelled from inside the Lexus. "And you don't even have helmets on!" 

"I don't give a fuck!" the bluenette shouted back, revving her moped engine, causing Max to wince. The longhaired girl flipped the driver off with a smug grin on her face.

Max slowly cycled toward the scene, hoping to pass them without somehow getting involved.

_Stay calm, Max. Remember what mom said. Just focus on the road ahead of you! If they don't notice me, everything will be fine._

The right rear window opened, and a blonde girl with a pony haircut stuck her head out and hands out. She had a milkshake in her hand and asked, "Where did you find this thing? On a junkyard?"

Max stopped on the sidewalk and pulled out her camera. The bluenette used her legs to push against the ground, rolling backward until she faced the blonde girl at the rear window. 

The bluenette took a deep breath, whispering, "No one insults my baby." She closed her mouth and then began to move her mouth as if she was chewing on food.

The blonde girl laughed and then slurped on her milkshake. However, her smile turned into a horrifying screech when an enormous amount of saliva splashed on her face. 

The girls on the moped laughed hysterically, and the girl with the feather earring almost fell off but managed to catch herself by grabbing the on the bluenettes black shirt.

Obviously, the girl with spit in her face wasn't happy. In a fit of rage, she threw her milkshake at the bluenette. A white, milky fluid splashed all of the bluenette, who growled when some of it got into her eyes.

The bluenette wiped her eyes clean using her index fingers. "You wanna play, huh? Okay!" She turned her head to her passenger behind her and said, "Watch this, Rachel!"

_So, the girl with the feather is called Rachel. Wowser, I bet she will become a model when she grows up._

The bluenette suddenly twisted the throttle, raised her left leg, and then sped off. The right side mirror of the Lexus shattered when the bluenette's feet smashed against them. 

When debris landed all over the sidewalk, Max was eleven years old again, and back in her room. She saw her old instant camera falling off her desk as the earthquake started.

_Wait, no way! Am I having a panic attack now? Stay calm, Max. Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Mom, I need you. Think about mommy. Her face. Her smile._

When Max opened her eyes, she was back on the sidewalk. Her heart was pounding through her chest, her hands were shaking. She scanned her surroundings and saw the Lexus had its hazard lights on. The girls on the moped were gone.

 _Wow! I did it! But it's time to go. I don't want anything to do with this._ Max tapped her pockets. _Wait a moment! Where is my camera? Oh... crap!_

Her camera was lying on the concrete path; it had a crack on the screen. Max picked it off the ground and checked the damage.

_Thank dog, it's just a cracked screen. Wowser, I took a picture when the girl threw her milkshake at the blue-haired girl!_

Relived, Max buried her face in her arms on the handlebars of her bike. _Such a crazy morning. And I bet they all go to my school... Oh, man..._


	4. Chapter 4

Cursing and swearing were coming through the wide-open passenger window of the white SUV. Max slowly cycled toward them from the sidewalk. As she passed them, she made brief eye contact with the girl who had a blonde pixie haircut. Red-faced and balling her fists, the girl unbuckled her seatbelt and then punched the dashboard. She screamed, "This cunt bitch is so dead! Ouch, shit! My hand hurts!"

Max felt her thighs burning as she picked up her pace. She hummed a song in her head, trying to calm down her nerves. _I don't have to see you right them, uhh... they won't see me right now... face s_ — 

Sadly, when Max reached the next intersection, her little karaoke session was interrupted by more screams coming from the white SUV behind her. This time it was the driver, the adult blonde female, yelling, "Get back inside, Victoria! Don't you dare cause a scene here!"

Max stopped at the intersection and turned her head a little right. She pretended to stare at the traffic lights and watched the scene in her peripheral vision. _Victoria is her name. And I guess the angry lady is her mom._

Max saw Victoria standing on the sidewalk with her arms crossed, yelling, "Shut up, mom! This is not your problem! I swear! This is the last time I'm letting her humiliate me like that!"

Victoria's mom got out of her SUV and approached Victoria. "Who do you think you are? This punk just destroyed my mirror! Of course, this is my problem." The lady chuckled. "Well, technically, it's going to her parents' problem soon."

Victoria angrily kicked the front tire of her mom's car, shaking her head. "No way, this time, she won't get away with this! Fuck her!"

Victoria's mom picked up the pieces of her shattered side mirror. "Listen, you little brat. Calm down now and watch your language." She began to talk slowly and in a lower voice. "This punk goes to your school, right? We will easily find her, and then she will get punished accordingly."

_Oh yeah, her blue hair will stand out wherever she goes,_ Max thought, pretending to be a part of the conversation.

The sidewalk was covered with broken glass and plastic from the broken mirror. Victoria snatched a big piece of plastic and threw it in Max's direction while screaming, "Shit," on top of her lungs.

"My god, you're embarrassing me! Do you realize how easily you could ruin our company's reputation behaving like that? Get inside the SUV, now!" Victoria's mom grabbed her furious daughter under the arm and shoved her in the passenger seat. "And don't ever kick my car again!"

_Oh, dog! This Victoria girl is angry and mean! You don't wanna get on her bad side! At least she and the punk girl are enemies. Hopefully, they will leave me alone._

When the traffic lights turned green, Max cycled across the intersection and turned left into the street where her new high school was located. She heard the doors of the SUV slamming shut. Luckily, the angry shrieking noises coming from inside it turned into the sound of the wind when Max rode off.

_Much better! But cereal, they really looked like high school bullies. I wonder if this punk girl will get in trouble for this. I guess it depends on how expensive these car mirrors are._

An almost empty school bus passed Max as she approached her new high school, "The Vortex." Her stomach turned into a knot when she saw the grey, funnel-shaped statue resembling a tornado in the middle of the green grassy campus. 

_It's so big, how is it not falling down? The bottom is thinner than my wrist! Maybe this is the tornado, who destroyed my hometown, somehow turned into stone?_

Max got off her bike and carefully poked the statue with her pinky finger. _What is it made of? It's like stone... or metal? The surface is smooth, like ice... I should get going before it turns into a real tornado, hah!._

The bike rack near the main entrance was already bursting full. All the benches were placed in a circle around the statue. Max decided to lock her bike on one of them. _As long as I don't annoy or hinder anyone, it should be fine._

Max wrapped her newly bought chain lock around the frame of her bike and then around the bench. She started to snicker because she noticed that all the benches pointed at the statute. _What if the people here worship this statue! Now that would be hilarious!_

With a goofy grin, Max stepped near the statue and stretched her arms out like a bird. _The top of it is even wider than... me...with my arms stretched out! I'm gonna take some photos of it during lunch. This is amazing._


	5. Chapter 5

Max followed the stone path across the campus until she faced the glass door of the entrance. The reflection of the tornado statue was visible in the shiny, clean glass, causing Max to feel a little paranoid. It didn't help that there was a big, white sign above the door with a black spiral logo on it.

 _Even their damn logo looks like a tornado. What the frick is going on here? Maybe they should add a human or a cow falling into this spiral._ Max chuckled at her own thoughts. _A cow and a human, falling into another dimension, which is filled with bullies and losers, ruled by annoyed teachers. This too much for me. I better snap a selfie._

Max's camera made its typical beeping sound as she held the power button. She pointed the lens at her face, sucking in her cheeks before pressing the snap button.

_I look so quirky and random, and my freckles are really standing out in this pic. Too bad, I have no friends to show it to._

Studying her dorky-looking face, Max realized that the clock on her camera screen showed 8:04 AM. _Shit shit shit!_ In a panic, she ripped open the door, creating a loud bang. Thankfully, the glass and the door hinges didn't break. However, the middle-aged man, who sat on one of the cafeteria tables to the left, glared at Max. He had his smartphone on his ear, talking to someone as twisted his mustache.

Max felt uncomfortable because his face was red, with veins popping out. She believed that he was the security guard here because he wore a blue uniform, and "SECURITY" was written on his blue cap. 

The security guard balled his right fist, resting it on the table. "Yeah, I don't know how Chloe found the keys," he said to the person on the other line. "I'm sorry. Just let me deal with her. She just needs some disciple and order."

 _Who is Chloe?_ Max thought. She slowed down her pace because she is a nosy little girl and wants to listen to his conversation.

"C'mon, that's not a felony!" the security guard said again and then shook his head. "Yeah, damned. Hit and run. Like I said before, she is only fifteen. Berry, please. Let me deal with her!"

The guard balled his left fist and tapped it into his tights. "Let me talk to the D.A. I personally worked for him... Yes, I know he is pissed off that his daughter was involved!"

Shaking his head in defeat, the security guard threw his phone on his table and stood up.

 _I better hurry up and ignore him before he arrests me for just standing here and breathing,_ Max thought. She took a look at her schedule paper. _Room number... uhh... two, dot, zero, six, that's the second floor!_

Max ran up the stairs, which were in the far right corner. She supported herself on the railing, and when she reached the second floor, she was already out of breath. There were only two hallways on this floor, one to the left, the other to the right. "2.00 - 2.12" was written on a small sign hanging on the wall, with an arrow pointing to the left.

_To the left!_

Inside the hallway, all the classrooms were on the left, while the lockers were on the right side. This made it easy for Max, and she eventually reached her target, classroom number, 2.06. She took a deep breath and noticed that a big, pink penis was sprayed on the lockers behind her. "WARREN GAYHAM IS A GAYLORD" was written underneath it.

 _That's so immature but kinda funny... but what now? Should I knock on the door?_ Max felt a growing lump in her throat and gulped in fear. _Everyone will stare at me when I enter the classroom. Oh no..._

Max took a deep breath as she opened the door timidly. She hoped that no one would notice her. However, there was now silence, and everyone's face turned to Max. Looking like a deer in headlights, she noticed that the teacher's table in front of her was empty. However, the bluenette was there, leaning her ass against the teacher's desk, which was unoccupied. She talked with another girl, who sat on a desk in front of her. It was the girl with the blue feather earring, Rachel.

_These two are the only ones who are not staring at me right now. And where the hell is the teacher?_

Max put her nervously shaking hands in her pocket, trying to hide them from her new classmates. She looked to the left and realized all the school desks were long, each one occupied with two students. 

_Damned. I will have to sit beside someone._

A boy at the far back pointed at Max and laughed. "Look at her, she is panting like a whore!" he yelled.

_Asshole._

Ignoring the sniggering coming from the far back, Max looked for a free seat. There were two free tables right behind each other at the windows in the middle of the classroom. A boy with messy hair, wearing a t-shirt which had a silhouette of a baby Yoda on it, sat behind them. The chubby girl, with purple-dyed hair, who sat beside him, stared at her phone. Max's cheeks turned a little bit pink when the boy gave her a friendly smile as she hurried to the empty table in front of him.

Max sighed in relief. _Step one... done. I'm so lucky that the teacher isn't here yet._

The bluenette at the teacher's desk raised her voice, and Max's switched her attention to her.

"... you were with him! Bitchtoria showed me the picture!" the bluenette said, crossing her legs.

Rachel shrugged her shoulders. "I just... wanted to make sure that he won't sell us tea leaves again!"

"What the fuck are you talking about?" the bluenette asked. "That weed was dank as fuck!"

With a defeated sigh, Rachel leaned back on her chair and stared at the ceiling. "Dude, stop listening to this hoe. You know that she's just jealous of us. She's just trying to destroy our relationship!" 

The bluenette uncrossed her legs and began to talk in a loud and exciting way. "I know, and I bet she is a little gay too. You saw how she stared at Courtney's ass."

Rachel giggled and screeched like a little girl. "Chloe, I know what you are trying to say."

The bluenette rubbed her hands together and grinned mischievously. 

_Her name is Chloe, and her eyes are sparkling every time she looks at Rachel,_ Max thought, staring at Chloe. _She must be best friends with Rachel. I wish I had a best friend... or any friends at all. But who would hang around with a freak like me?_

As time went on, the whole class seemed to become increasingly restless. A piece of paper whizzed past Max's ear. It was the two jocks, who sat two tables in front, and one table to the right of Max. They started to crumble up papers and threw them at the boy and the girl behind Max. The jocks were both wearing both identical t-shirts with their football team's badge on it.

_The Seattle Tornados... and of course, they use a tornado as their logo. Damn bullies. They cause much pain around them and don't even realize that. I wish someone would beat the crap out of them._

Five minutes later, the teacher still nowhere to be seen. Max got bored and fiddled around with her camera. Chloe was still talking with Rachel; she leaned forward and rested her chin on her right palm. Max stared fascinated at Chloe's visible tattoo.

_Wowsers, a skull with butterflies and... what's that around? Leaves?_

Max squinted and leaned a little forward. "A skull, leaves, two... no, three roses! And butterflies! Blue butterflies!" she loudly said.

 _That must've been expensive. Such a big tattoo... I bet the needle was painful!_ Max stared out of the window and noticed that there were a few drops of rain on the glass, sliding down. _Is someone peeing from the roof? That's _impossible_! The sky is clear! _

Then, a blue spot appeared on the window. It was the bluenette's hair, reflecting in the window. She stood tall right next to Max with her arms crossed. Trying to look natural, Max stretched her back and shoulders before turning her head to the bluenette. "Uh, hello, I didn't see you," Max said.

The bluenette's gaze wandered over Max's face as if she was counting her freckles. "Yeah, so... uh... I'm Chloe."

Max made a nervous smile and stared deep into Chloe's blue eyes. "Can I help y... you, Chloe?" Max stuttered out.

"Shit... I heard... I mean, I noticed you, staring," Chloe pointed at the tattoo on her right arm. "Fuck, I forgot what I wanted to say! I guess Frank sold me some crappy weed again."

Max scratched her head in confusion and pulled out her camera. "Yeah, cool, but I don't like drugs! I... prefer taking photos." 

Chloe sat right next to Max at the table. The smell of tobacco and weed coming from her made Max's eyes tear up.

"Whoa, why are you crying?" Chloe asked, her eyes widening. "I didn't do anything wrong!" She waved at Rachel to come over.

"Uh, no... I'm allergic... to you, I guess!" Max stuttered out. She winced and slapped her face, thinking, _what the hell am I saying?_


	6. Chapter 6

"Whoa, why are you crying?" Chloe asked, her eyes widening. "I didn't do anything wrong!" She waved at Rachel to come over.

"Uh, no... I'm allergic... to you, I guess!" Max stuttered out. She winced and slapped her face, thinking, _what the hell am I saying?_

Chloe nodded. "Alright. I just don't wanna be known as someone who makes little girls cry!" 

Max rubbed her burning eyes and made a weak smile. "Thank dog for that." 

To Chloe's shock, two arms wrapped around her neck from behind. It was Rachel, and she rested her chin on Chloe's left shoulder. 

"Did you finally count her freckles?" Rachel asked, with her gaze fixed at the now red-faced Max. "And what was that about making little girls cry?" 

Chloe gasped in shock. She turned her head to the left, almost touching Rachel's nose. "Shut up, dude! That's not funny! She is gonna think we're perverts!" she said.

"What? Chlo! Since when do you care about what people think about us?" Rachel asked with an amused grin.

Max avoided eye contact and stared at the chalkboard in front of the classroom. _I don't like how they talk about my face._ She felt like a circus freak and shyly asked, "So, how can I help you two?"

"Well, we noticed you staring at her tattoo. Do you like it?" Rachel asked, pointing at Chloe's tattoed arm.

"Yeah, it's pretty big," Max said. She didn't know what to say, so she placed her digital camera on the table and asked, "Can I take a photo?"

Rachel suddenly erupted in laughter. "Oh my god! What is this? It's so small!" She pointed at Max's camera. "How old is this camera? It looks like from 2001!"

Chloe joined the laughter. "Yeah, it's smaller than Prescock's dick!"

Max let out a silent sigh. _Great, first they make fun of my face, now they think my camera is trash._ She closed her eyes, thinking, _I hope they leave me alone soon._

Rachel let go of Chloe, who suddenly stood up. However, Chloe slumped down on her chair again, grimacing in pain. 

"Ouch. Fuck. I had an accident today. Why don't we just do the photoshoot right here, on the table?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah, she stepped on a Lego," Rachel added. She coughed, obviously trying to hide a laugh.

Chloe rested her arms on the table, showing off her tattoo to Max. " Go for it."

Max nodded. "Just one photo." With the sound of a click, another picture was saved on her camera. "Perfect, thanks, Chloe," Max said. She showed Chloe the picture she just shot.

"Not bad, don't you agree, Rachel?" Chloe asked, pointing at the screen of Max's camera. "You should become a photographer!"

Suddenly, the corners of Rachel's mouth dropped. "Yeah, you're a good photographer, uhh, freckled girl."

 _I should probably tell them my name soon,_ Max thought. 

"What's wrong, Rachel?" Chloe asked. "Are you jealous or something?"

"No, I... I wish my parents would allow me to get one too," Rachel said.

Chloe snorted. "The trick is, get the tattoo first, and then ask your parents."

"Man... Can you imagine my dad seeing me with a tattoo? Oh my god!" Rachel said, slapping her thigh in amusement.

"Holy crap! He is like the D. fucking A. He would sue the shit out of the guy made it!" Rachel said.

_The security guard said something about a D.A. So, the security guard talked about Rachel's father? And what the hell is a D.A.? I need to Google it._

Max searched for her phone in her pocket and then realized, _I got my keys, camera, but I forgot my damn phone! God damned, how stupid can I be? I can't call mom when I get a panic attack!_

Feeling defeated, Max buried her head in her arms, leaning her head on her desk. _What a shitty first day. We don't even have a teacher. I'm just gonna take a nap then._

As Max's mind began to drift away, the sound of Chloe and Rachel giggling faded out. Sadly, a sudden burp, loud as a clap of thunder, sounded through the classroom. Max's head shot up in shock; she realized that she was a small child again, back in her old room in Arcadia Bay. 

The laughter coming from outside began to fade out, turning into the sound of wind and rain, splashing against Max's window. Weirded out by it, she took a look outside and realized that she had a clear view of the streets of Arcadia Bay.

 _Wowsers, what is happening? Is this a dream? Why am I back here?_ Max thought. She stood up and grabbed her instant camera from her desk. _My old camera! It's weird holding it in my hands. This is so surreal. Everything just looks like when I was young!_

Max walked to her mirror, staring at her reflection. Noticing that she was wearing her chicken pajama, she tilted her head to the left and realized that her reflection in the mirror narrowed her eyes and didn't move at all.

_I don't like this. Is this the night when the tornado hit?_

Max felt goosebumps forming on her skin. She ran to her door, but it wouldn't budge. She pulled hard on the handle, but all Max heard was the wind whistling through the bottom of the door.

_Crap! What do I do now? I could browse the internet. Maybe I'll find out what date it is today!_

Sadly, there was no laptop on her desk. Instead, it was covered with colored crayons and papers which had drawings of Max and her parents on them.

_Oh yeah. I didn't even own a laptop when I was this young. This sucks._

"Mom? Dad? Where are you? I'm scared!" Max yelled. She noticed that the wind was getting louder outside. 

She knocked and kicked on her door, dropping her instant camera on the ground. "Mom! Help me!" she screamed.

Max jumped in shock when a huge branch hit her window. She turned around and approached her window. When she opened her window and heard a deep roar, she knew it was the day of the tornado. 

Suddenly, the door behind Max's opened. But it wasn't her dad. Instead, a middle-aged man with a big, grey beard covering his whole face walked inside. Three young girls and a rich-looking boy wearing designer clothes stood behind him. 

"Who are you? Dad? Help! There is a man here!" Max screamed. Her eyes filled with tears. She took a step back, stumbling a teddy bear that was lying on the ground. She landed on her head, the last thing she saw was the middle-aged man, hovering above her and placing his hand on Max's face.

Max rolled to her left side, grabbing her teddy bear. She closed her eyes and hugged her teddy as tight as she could. _Oh, that's nice. I already feel better._ When she opened her eyes, she was staring at the white ceiling of the classroom. She looked around and saw her classmates with concerned looks, standing in a circle around her. The bearded man was still towering above Max, asking, "Hey, you! Can you hear me?"

In shock, Max shot off the ground, almost passing out again from the lack of blood flow to her brain. "I'm super fine!" 

"I guess her pink helmet protected her useless brain, ha-ha!" Victoria yelled, standing beside the old man. Suddenly, the whole class erupted in laughter.


	7. Chapter 7

Chloe's blue hair stood out of the crowd around Max. She was one of the few people who weren't laughing right now. "C'mon, assholes. Leave her alone," she yelled.

"Shut the fuck up, homo. I bet you wish that you were on the ground right now doing some butt stuff with her," a voice yelled. It was the boy wearing a buttoned shirt beside Victoria.

"Says the faggot with the pink shirt," Chloe countered. "You better shut your mouth, or I'm gonna tell everyone what happened with Mark and you."

"Nathan! What the fuck! She's in a relationship with me! Don't even think about fucking with us!" Rachel cut in and then looked at Chloe. "Really, you're bringing Mark into this?"

Chloe shrugged with a smug grin, pointing at Nathan. "The psycho started it. He probably snorted too much cocaine this morning."

"Don't tell me what to do. My dad practically owns this school. He could expel you with the snap of my finger!" Nathan said. He then glanced smugly at Victoria before returning his attention to Chloe.

"And then what? Do you think I'm afraid of you?" Chloe said, cracking her knuckles. She took a step forward toward Nathan and chuckled, "I fear no one, not even your bloody, red eyes!"

Rachel rolled her eyes and elbowed Chloe. She grabbed Chloe's hand, trying to pull her away. "Enough, let's sit down."

 _Mark? Who's that? Is that another student?_ Max thought. Her hands slid through her messy, shoulder-length hair, trying to fix them. She thanked God that Chloe and Nathan argued, distracting everyone from her weird panic attack. 

"Everyone, stop arguing!" the old man yelled before turning his attention to Max. "I'm assuming you're Maxine Caulfield?" 

Max nodded; she felt the soft touch of a hand on her left shoulder. "Yes, but you can call me Max if you want." 

_That must be my new teacher. I just told him to call me Max, and I'm not even a boy! How stupid can I be?_

"Alright, Max. Please take a seat," the teacher said before raising his voice. "That applies to everyone here! Go back to your seats!"

Max turned around, now facing the boy with messy hair. He put his hand away from Max's shoulder and asked, "Are you okay, Max? What happened? You suddenly got out of your chair, screaming for your dad. And then, you passed out!"

"I screamed? No way! Are you joking?" Max moaned, covering her face in embarrassment. "I can't believe what is happening to me!"

"I'm sorry. I'm Warren, by the way!" Warren said. He pointed at the two laughing jocks. "Ignore them; they're losers."

Max unstrapped her chin strap, sliding her helmet under her arm. "Thanks, Warren." She and Warren walked to their tables and sat down. However, Victoria, her two friends, and Nathan followed her.

Victoria stood there with arms crossed. "Are you retarded?" she asked Max, gritting her teeth.

Max's eyes widened. "I'm sorry?"

Victoria sighed. "Two tables, four seats." She then loudly counted herself, her two friends, and Nathan. "One two three four, now fuck off, you whore!"

"Is there a problem?" the teacher, who placed his bag beside his table, asked. "Max, why don't you just sit there?" He pointed at a free seat behind the two jocks.

_Thank dog. Everything is better than sitting near Victoria and her meanie-heads._

Max grabbed all her stuff and then sat down on the free seat beside a blonde girl. The blonde smiled and pushed her books, papers, and pencils aside so that Max has more room for her stuff on the desk. 

_She seems nice,_ Max thought. She noticed that one paper had a huge cross drawn on, with a bloody Jesus Christus nailed on it.

The teacher's voice was monotonous and sounded tired. He introduced himself and called everyone's name to check if no one is missing. However, Max didn't care that much. She was still shaken up by what happened in the morning. She felt tired, and her heavy eyelids kept closing.

"You okay, Max?" the girl sitting beside Max whispered.

"Yeah, thanks for asking. And you?" Max asked, whispering

"Uh," the girl paused. "I'm fine, too, I think."

"Alright, what's your name?" Max whispered.

"I'm Kate."

"Nice, I'm Max, by the way," Max whispered.

Kate grinned. "I know."

Suddenly, a quiet voice came from the jocks in front of Max. "Zack? Do you think she's a trans?"

"No way in hell. And I didn't see a bulge."

"I know, right? But why does she call herself Max?"

"No idea. Maybe it's short for something?"

"Like Gayham? You know he called us a loser?"

"Yes, we gotta deal with him later. We're gonna show him who's the real loser." 

"Toilet?"

"During lunch?"

"Sounds good. It's gonna be fun."

The jocks tried to hide their laughter and did a fist-bump under their desk. Max crossed her arms on her table, burying her head into them. _It's official. I'm in hell now._


	8. Chapter 8

Math class went on, and Max noticed in the corner of her eyes that Kate kept looking down at her chest and rubbing her throat. So when the bell finally rang, and the teacher left, Max took her chance. 

_I think she is worried about something. She seems like a nice girl. I gotta do this discreetly though, I don't wanna look creepy or like a stalker._

"So Kate, ready for English class?" Max asked, staring at her schedule paper. _Engish class with Bernadette Hoida. I like that name._

"I hope so. But I'm so distracted." Kate crossed her arms and sunk into her chair. "I had a bad morning."

"Welcome to the club," Max said. "I passed out in front of everyone and cried like a baby!"

"I don't know. People will forget about you, the embarrassing stuff you did." Kate sighed and grabbed the bible from her table, pressing it against her chest. "But... my necklace is gone forever."

_Hmm... say something smart, Max. Wait a moment! I just realized that I always call myself Max when I talk to myself! I kinda like it!_

"You can always buy a new necklace, but my dignity is gone forever!" Max argued in a cheerful tone.

"I wish it was that easy. My father gave it to me, and he got it from his." Kate paused to sniff her nose. "Wherever I went, I always felt like he was by my side. Now all I feel is emptiness."

Max shrugged and gave Kate an apologetic smile. "That's sucks. But if I ever find your necklace, I will tell you."

"Thanks, Max. I appreciate it."

Miss Hoida, a pretty brunette, entered the noisy classroom. When she yelled, "Quiet," Max expected another smooth lesson. Sadly, A crumpled sheet of paper hit Kate in the back of her head. Kate ignored it and shook her head.

Sniggers and giggled were coming from Victoria's tables, but they didn't look at Max. Max assumed she or one of her friends three the ball. Feeling curious, she picked up the ball and began to uncrumple it.

"What was that noise?" Miss Hoida asked, looking at Max's direction.

Max's eyes shot open. She stopped uncrumpling the paper and looked like a sad puppy at the teacher. _Crap,_ _too loud,_ Max thought. _  
_

"I'm... sorry," Max said, way too quiet.

"I don't want this to happen again," Miss Hoida said to Max.

Max nodded; her heart was racing. She turned all of her attention to the teacher. 

Miss Hoida talked and talked, telling her students what to expect, what she expects from them, and so on. It was almost unbearable for Max. She thought about taking a quick nap. However, with only 13 more minutes until the first recess of the day, Max decided to keep her eyes fixed on the teacher.

It was a welcome change that Nathan started playing on his phone, drawing the teacher's attention to him. He also kept talking loudly to Victoria, who sat behind him.

"Nathan, can you please be quiet," Miss Hoida said. "And put that phone away."

"Sure," Nathan said. He placed his phone on his desk.

Max shook her head. _Who does he think he is?_

"I'm asking you again. Put it away, in your pocket or bag. And turn it off too. I'm sure you know that smartphones are not allowed in class," Miss Hoida said. This time, she spoke slower.

Nathan lifted his right index finger. "One moment." He grabbed his phone from the table, typed something on it, and put it in his pocket.

There was a stunned silence, which was interrupted by the ear-splitting giggles coming from Victoria and her friends. Max was looking dumbstruck. She glared at Nathan's direction, and her eyes met with Warren's for a moment.

_Oh, this won't end well. I can feel it already._

Miss Hoida approached Nathan swiftly. "I know that your dad donates a lot of money to this facility. But that doesn't give you the right to behave like this."

"Huh?" Nathan said. "Yeah, sure."

"Since smartphones are not allowed in class, I'm going to confiscate yours until the class ends," Miss Hoida said. She reached out her hand toward Nathan.

"Hmm, let me think... Nope. It's my property, so no," Nathan said. The corners of his mouth raised.

"Aww, he is such a boss," the girl with the striped t-shirt sitting beside him commented.

"Didn't you listen to what I said? Hand over your phone, or I will have to send you to the Principle," Miss Hoida said in a deeper tone.

Nathan started to tap his feet against the desk leg. "How about this. You shut your mouth, and we pretend this talk never happened. My dad and the Principle are good friends, by the way."

Miss Hoida responded by shaking her head in disbelief. "That's enough; we're heading to the office now. Follow me."

Nathan laughed and clapped his hands in amusement like a maniac. "Yeah, sure. I'm staying right here. You can do whatever the fuck you want. I don't care."

"Alright, everyone," Miss Hoida suddenly yelled. She started to walk out of the classroom. "I'm going to get the Principle here. Stay on your seats and be quiet."

Victoria, who sat behind Nathan, placed his hand on Nathan's shoulder, "C'mon man, chill dude."

_So much drama on the first day? Like what the heck? At least I'm not the center of attention this time._

When the door shut and the teacher left, there was almost silence. There was only the sound of the two jocks, loudly chewing gum with their mouth open. They stood up and walked to Nathan, complimenting him on his "alpha as fuck" behavior.

Meanwhile, Max decided to take a look at the crumpled up paper. She was kinda disturbed and pleasantly surprised at the same time. It was a child-like drawing of Max, with her freckles standing out, her hand raised, and her finger spread out. "D-dad!" was written in a speech bubble above her. Drawn in front of her, the bearded teacher, Victoria, and her friends, pointing at Max with their mouth wide open.


	9. Chapter 9

The door slammed shut, and Miss Hoida was gone, leaving the class on its own. Everyone stared in disbelief at Nathan, who sat with his ass on his desk. Nathan's feet were resting on his chair; he clearly doesn't give a fuck. The two jocks standing beside him seemed to be very impressed by him.

"You showed her dude, she knows her place her place now!" Zack said.

"That was insane, bro! But you gotta deal with Wells now," the other jock said.

Nathan shrugged. "My dad got him by the balls; he won't do shit to me."

"Nice dude... oh... be right back," Zack said. He turned his head to the girl wearing a short skirt and a colorful necklace, who sat at the far back. "What's up, Dana?"

Dana let out a deafening loud giggle and yelled, "Hey Zack! Hihihihihihi."

Max winced audibly. She turned her attention to Rachel, who's fingers were gently rubbing Chloe's shoulders. Chloe let out a few quiet moans, which made Max smile.

 _Chloe was so crazy happy in the morning. Now she is all quiet. She and Rachel really love each other, I guess._ Max thought, staring blankly in the air. Her attention switched to Victoria, who grabbed a pen and stared mischievously at Chloe. _I wonder what will happen next. Hopefully, Nathan gets kicked out of this class or something. I don't like him, he is scary._

Suddenly, a pen flew across the classroom. The sharp tip landed right on Chloe's back. She let out a loud, "Ouch," and yelled, "What the fuck is your problem?"

"Knock it off, whore," Victoria yelled back with a smile. Her friends cheered her. 

Chloe shot off her chair. "How about this, I'm knocking you out!" she yelled as she waved her fist in the air.

"Oh, I see. Hit and run, damage of property, driving without a license, and now assault, huh!" Victoria crossed her arms with a smug grin. "You're gonna enjoy getting butt fucked in prison!"

"Oh, shut your disgusting mouth," Chloe growled. She grabbed the pen off the ground. "Or I'm gonna shove this fucker up your ass."

"Ha-ha, you wish, punk-ass," Victoria sneered.

"You too," Chloe whispered.

Rachel stood up, lifting her finger as if she wanted to say something smart. But then she suddenly grabbed Chloe's wrists, pulling her toward her. Max's heart raced when Rachel's and Chloe's lips connected. Chloe wrapped her arms around Rachel's head. Her knee gave in, she collapsed on her chair, pulling Rachel to herself. 

_Holy shit! What the hell is happening?_

Rachel suddenly pushed Chloe away. She was gasping for air. "Dude! I need to fucking breathe! Holy crap!"

Chloe ignored Rachel's pleading. She threw herself right at Rachel, causing the chair to tip over. Thankfully, Rachel's head landed right on Chloe's hands, absorbing the impact. Rachel's legs were spread apart in the air. Chloe was lying right on top of her. Her hands slid all over Rachel's curves until her hands landed right on her butt cheeks, where she dug her hands in. They started to kiss again, moaning and giggling loudly, as if there was no tomorrow.

Almost all students had their phones pulled out, filming the romantic scene. To Max's surprise, Victoria didn't seem to be too happy. Victoria's face flushed in anger, and she hit the table with her hand. She also kept exchanged desperate glances with the black-haired girl in front of her.

"Fucking thots, why don't you two take a room?" Victoria barked out a laugh.

Rachel and Chloe simultaneously turned their faces to Victoria. "You got a problem?" Rachel asked. "Don't tell me you don't enjoy this!"

"No, I don't. You two are so disgusting!" Victoria said, trying to sound calm, but her voice was shaky, filled with anger.

Rachel turned her head to Victoria, grabbing Chloe's hand. "Then why are you staring at Taylor's ass all the time?" she asked.

The blonde girl sitting beside Victoria covered her mouth in shock. "Vic? What is she talking about?"

Rachel let go of Chloe, turned around, and slapped her own butt cheeks, making everyone, except Victoria and her friends, laugh. Suddenly, Victoria grabbed her friend's open pencil case and threw it in Rachel's direction. All the pens flew all over the classroom, hitting other students.

Chloe glanced at Rachel, pressing her lips together. "Enough throwing shit; it's time to teach her a lesson."

"Chlo! Wait, let's wait! We can deal with her later!" Rachel pleaded. She closely followed Chloe, who seemed to be ready to beat the shit out of Victoria.

Victoria grabbed the sharpest thing on her table, which was a scissor. She pointed it right at Chloe's face. "It's self-defense, dude! You will have no chance in court!"

Chloe took a quick step to the right, grabbing Victoria's wrist tightly, forcing her to drop the scissor.

"Ouch! You fucking bitch, let me go! Taylor, Courtney, help me!" Victoria begged. She wildly swung her free left arm at Chloe's face, hitting her right in the nose.

And then, a big fight broke out. Victoria's two friends rushed at Chloe, grabbing her hair and pulling her to the ground with Victoria. Victoria's elbow landed right on top of Chloe's bloody face. Chloe took her chance and grabbed Victotira's pearl necklace, twisting it so hard that Victora's face turned blue.

Meanwhile, Rachel fought off Victoria's two friends. It was a two versus one fight, but Rachel stood her ground quite well. Her hair was tied in a braid behind her back, giving her a slight advantage over her opponents. She kicked Taylor right the shin, causing her to cry and fall on the ground. 

Courtney froze in shock. "Are you stupid? You hurt her!" she said to Rachel. She patted Courtney's shoulder. "C'mon, it's gonna be fine!"

Rachel shrugged her hands in the air. "What? She attacked my first!" She then turned her attention at the tired Chloe and Victoria, who were wrestling on the ground.

"Chlo! Let go of her. It's enough!" Rachel pleaded. She managed to wrap her arms around Chloe's upper chest and whispered, "Enough. You showed her."

Chloe let out an annoyed moan. "Alright, alright." Suddenly, the chain of Victoria's pearl necklace burst, and the pearls scattered all over the floor.

"You dumb shit! This was my mom's necklace! I'm going to kill you!" Victoria suddenly screamed.

Max closed her eyes and placed her palms over her ears. She could feel her hands starting to shake. _To all of you, uh... fighting Americans, I wish I had uh... friends. I cry all night... and I want to be somewhere else— wowsers!_

When there was silence, Max opened her eyes. She was back in Arcadia Bay, sitting at her desk in her room.


	10. Chapter 10

Back in her old room in Arcadia Bay, Max sat alone at her desk. She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of the light rain drizzling on the window. Her mind wandered around, and she thought about what to do next.

_I'm definitely back in Arcadia Bay. _Now what? Is this a panic attack again? What do I do now?_  
_

Max shivered, and she opened her eyes when a faint cold breeze blew through her room. She took a look at her window, and noticed that it was dark outside, and then wondered if this was the day when the tornado destroyed her hometown.

_This is so surreal. Is this all happening inside my head? Did I pass out in the classroom? I better not stand up and scream; I don't wanna embarrass myself in front of the class again._

Like last time, Max's desk looked messy, with various sheets of papers scattered all over it. Max picked up one of these papers and looked at it. 

__A drawing of me, mom, and my dad; we were walking up the hiking path to the lighthouse._ I even remember drawing that. It got destroyed in the storm, just like the rest of my stuff. _

Max wanted to stand up and look through all her stuff. But instead, she decided to turn her head around. She saw her one-eyed teddy bear lying on the ground in front of her door.

_My teddy! It got destroyed too! I wanna pick him up and hug him! Should I do it? Better not..._

The rain and wind picked up outside, just like Max's heart rate. She took a look inside the top drawer of her desk and found a birthday card from her grandparents.

_For a special granddaughter, you are eleven today, blah blah blah. Not a single soul came to my birthday party, at least my parents were there. Hmm, the tornado destroyed my town at the beginning of October 2015. My birthday was on the 21st of September, that's all I know. I should Google it; maybe I'll find something interesting about the tornado._

A strong gust of wind caused the glass of the window to wobble, which scared Max. She felt goosebumps on her skin as she opened the second drawer of her desk. 

_Polaroid pictures - so many of them. I still remember that shocked look on my mom's face when I told my mom I used all of them. They're so expensive, why are they so expensive?_

Max let out a sigh and then scratched her chin as she tried to figure out a plan. _Let's try to mess with this world... or reality..._

Most of the pictures in the second drawer were selfies of Max. She grabbed the prettiest one in her eyes and a pencil, and wrote, "the older Max was here" on it. She also drew a heart on the bottom white part of the polaroid picture. Her pajama shorts didn't have any pockets, so she folded it and pushed it down her shorts.

_Okay, now what? I can't risk just standing up and walking around. Who knows what's going on with me in the classroom. And I wonder if my classmates are still fighting._

Max sat there rooted in her chair when her legs started to tingle and felt a little numb. She stood up and stretched them. Suddenly, she felt something sharp poking her feet. It was shards of plastic of her old instant camera, scattered all over the floor. 

__I must've hit it with my elbow or something. Every time I'm here, my camera breaks... so annoying. I think it's time to leave this place._ I think it's time to leave this place. _

Max took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She visualized her mom entering her room, hugging her and kissing her, saying, "Everything will be fine, Maxine." When Max suddenly felt two powerful grips on her shoulders, her eyes shot open. It was Max's teacher, Miss Hoida, standing right behind her.

"Max? Can you hear me? How are you feeling?" Miss Hoida asked.

Max raised her head and stared at her teacher's pink shirt. "Hey, Miss Hoida, what are you doing here?" she asked with a fake smile. 

Miss Hoida sighed in relief and loosened her grip on Max's shoulders. "Good to see you back. You had a panic attack. And what do you mean with, what are you doing here?"

Max looked around and realized she was back in her classroom. "Oh, nevermind, I know, I'm sorry," Max said, rubbing her neck. 

"No need to apologize; your parents already informed us about your conditions," Miss Hoida said. She pointed at the bloody faced Chloe, who was leaning against the wall under the window. "It's their fault. I'm sure their behavior caused your panic attack."

"Nononono! It's not their fault, don't tell them anything! Please," Max said. 

Miss Hoida raised her hands defensively. "Alright, alright. I won't tell them anything." She then pointed at the clock near the door. "It's time for recess. I think some fresh air might do you good."

It was at that moment, Max realized that almost all the students were already gone. There was Rachel, who was in the middle of shoving up a rolled-up tissue paper inside Chloe's bloody nose. Victoria was here too, picking up all of her pearls off the ground. She rudely commanded her two friends around, yelling at them to hurry up.

_I could check on Chloe and Rachel, they seemed to be really friendly... no wait, they made fun of my freckles and camera... so no. They will probably bully me anyway._


	11. Chapter 11

Max walked out of the classroom and took another peek at Chloe and Rachel. To Max's confusion, Rachel grinned and waved her hand at her. Max responded with a shy and friendly smile before walking out of the classroom. 

_Rachel always looks happy when I look at her. She's so beautiful and mysterious. What's her deal? All I know is that her dad is the D.A. I wish I had my phone._

A loud argument echoed through the hallways of The Vortex High school. Max couldn't make out the voices, but she knew it was coming from the stairs leading downstairs. The voices sounded increasingly farther away, and Max glanced at her schedule paper. She needed to know where her locker is.

_Locker number forty-two, and I have a fifteen-minute break until 9:45AM._

Max walked out of the classroom and to the right toward the stairs and eventually reached locker number 42. It was right on the opposite of the toilet stalls. She heard a loud bang, which she assumed was the door of the principal office slamming shut. She put all her stuff in her locker, except her camera.

_My stomach feels so tight, I can't eat anything right now. I'm gonna save my two sandwiches for lunch._

When Max heard the sound of a squeaking door handle from behind, she froze like a deer in headlights. It was a person, leaving either the girls' or the boys' bathroom stalls. Max buried her head in her locker, thinking, _out of sight, out of mind._ She listened to the sound of footsteps behind her, getting closer. When they stopped, she slowly turned around was pleasantly surprised, it was Warren. The zipper on his jeans was open, and a piece of toilet paper was stuck on his black sneakers.

"Hey, Max, you okay?" Warren asked. He took a quick glance back at the girls' bathroom.

Max turned to her locker, closing it. "I'm fine. I hope you don't think I'm a psycho or something."

Warren took a step toward Max. "No way! You're... well, you kinda looked like you're gonna die or something!"

Max took a glimpse at Warren's toilet paper shoe, trying not to smile. "Really? What did I do? And what happened with Victoria and Chloe?"

"Principle Wells and the security guard, I think his name is David or something, stormed in and broke up the fight," Warren said. He discreetly covered his crotch with his palms.

Max's gaze was fixed on Warren's toilet paper shoes. She chuckled when she heard Warren slowly closing his zipper. "Sure, okay, W... Warren, did I do anything embarrassing?"

Warren lifted his right heel and removed the toilet paper from his sneaker. "You had like a small seizure or something and started talking about teddy bears and that..." he stuttered out. His face turned red as a tomato.

Max rubbed her tired eyes. "And what?" she asked. Her voice was raspy, and her throat felt dry.

"You said that no one came to your eleventh birthday," Warren revealed.

Max moaned and banged her head against the locker. "No way! I can't handle this anymore! I swear, I'm gonna die from embarrassment soon! This is just too much for—"

Max stopped talking when the door of the girls' bathroom opened, and a girl with brown hair and pink highlights, holding a tablet under her arm, emerged. Her piercing gaze made Max feel uncomfortable.

"Oh, hey, Brooke," Warren said. He pointed at Max. "Brooke, this is Max. Max, this is Brooke."

"Yeah, cool," Brooke said, approaching Warren. She twisted her mouth. "Warren, I need to help with my drone. The... controls are not working correctly."

Warren nodded and then stared at Max like a sad puppy. "Uh... okay then, wanna hang out with us during lunch?" he asked shyly.

"I'm not sure; I gotta do some stuff later. Forgot my phone..." Max said before letting out a sigh.

Warren raised his finger, and then his hands went to his pocket. However, Brooke suddenly grabbed his right arm and said, "Warren! C'mon now let's go! We don't have all day."

 _Of course, the only guy who is friendly to me has a friend that hates me for no reason. I didn't do anything wrong!_ _Why does she hate me? I didn't do anything!_ Max screamed in her thoughts. She stared at the door of the girls' bathroom when she felt pressure in her bladder. "I gotta go, see you later."

"Alright, Max," Warren said.

Ignoring the snickering coming from Brooke, Max rushed inside the girls' bathroom. She spent a minute at the faucet and stared at her own reflection in the mirror. A few splashes of cold water on her face cleared her mind and made her feel alert again.

_These dark circles under my eyes don't lie; I'm tired as hell._

Max could hear the shouts and yells coming from the schoolyard outside. She held the bower button of her camera and noticed that all the toilet stalls had green signs, saying "Vacant" under the door handles. She went inside the last one at the far back and locked the door behind her. 

__What a surprise, my first day at school, and I'm sitting alone on the toilet during recess._ I need my phone. Maybe I can ask Kate to borrow her phone, so I can call my mom? Better not... that would be creepy. _

Max browsed through all her selfies as she peed down in the toilet. When she was done, she pulled on the toilet roll, when suddenly a blue butterfly came flying out of it. It landed right on Max's bare thigh. Max's smoothly pointed her camera at the butterfly and snapped a photo of it.

_Wowsers, what the hell? Why is there a butterfly here?  
_

Max slowly stood up and carefully pulled up her jeans so that the blue butterfly won't get hurt and had enough time to fly away. The butterfly flew over the door of the stall, and Max followed it when she suddenly faced Rachel, who stood leaning against the wall beside the open window.


	12. Chapter 12

Max stood frozen with her left hand leaning against the toilet stall door. She looked like a deer in headlight as she stared into Rachel's glassy eyes. Rachel kept her silence, which gave Max an unsettling feeling. 

_How in the hell did I not hear her coming? I guess I was too focused on my selfies._

Rachel's eyes widened, and she moved her head a little forward toward Max. "Chlo, it's just her," she suddenly loudly said.

Max heard footsteps and let out a weak, "yeah... just me..." before walking past Rachel toward the faucets.

"Did you see the butterfly?" Rachel asked Max, who ignored her question.

Chloe stared at Rachel, who walked behind Max. Sadly, it looked like she was staring at Max, so Max felt really uncomfortable. Max looked at the ground as she walked to the faucet past Chloe.

 _I'm just gonna keep my mouth shut._ _I have no business with these girls,_ Max thought as she awkwardly walked to the faucet on the far left. She pressed the soap dispenser beside the mirror two times and then washed her hands with the hot water coming from the water tap.

_Gotta stay clean. I don't wanna catch a disease or something._

Max pulled on the paper dispenser, drying her hands. Chloe's blue hair stood out in her peripheral vision. Max noticed that Chloe kept turning her head to her. Max ignored it and threw the tissue paper in the trash bin before starting to walk toward the exit door.

"Wait, stop!" Rachel suddenly said, causing Max to freeze.

Max's heart skipped a beat, she slowly turned around. "Yeah?" she asked.

Rachel hesitated and then waved Max to come closer. "We gotta get this over with now," she said. Her voice was low; she was trying to sound like an adult.

Chloe shook her head and then took a look in the mirror. "Rachel, c'mon. What the fuck are you trying to do now?"

Rachel stared at Max. "This is the perfect place, were alone, and it's bright."

Chloe turned on the valve of the water tap and splashed water on her face. "Oh... I know what you are talking about. But why does it matter if we're alone? This is hella creepy, you know?"

Rachel sighed and placed her hands on her hips. "Dude! Are you stupid? You saw how uncomfortable she looked in the classroom!"

Chloe moaned and dried her hands with a tissue paper. "Alright, then. Max, stand by the wall," she ordered the approaching Max.

Max chuckled. "What?" She took three steps back and then bumped with her back against the hard ceramic wall. She also hit the back of her head against the wall.

"Whoa! Fuck, are you hurt?" Chloe asked, rushing to Max. 

Max winced audibly and rubbed the back of her head in pain. She said, "No, I'm fine, thanks."

"Alright, then," Chloe said in a low voice. "Just stand still, and don't move your head, okay?"

Rachel, who was slightly shorter than Chloe, rested her right elbow on Chloe. She covered her mouth, trying to hide her smile. "She's right. Don't worry. It won't hurt, as long as you stay still."

__ I don't like this, not one bit. I'm just gonna run away if these two try to do something funny to me.  _ _

Max's heart started pounding through her chest when Chloe gently placed her hands on her shoulders. Chloe moved her face closer to Max's and then stopped. Then, Chloe's eyeballs scanned Max's face.

"What are you doing?" Max asked, giving Chloe a sad puppy look. 

"I'm counting your freckles," Chloe said. "One, two, three—"

Max suddenly moved her head to the left because she heard talking and footsteps coming from outside the bathroom.

"Dude, stop moving," Chloe said as she looked at Max with a fixed gaze.

Max looked back at Chloe. "Alright, but don't hurt me!" Her whole body started to shake in the rhythm of her heartbeat.

"Calm down, man! I'm not doing anything! Damned, I gotta start from the beginning now," Chloe complained. 

Rachel suddenly gave Chloe a loud kiss on the back of her neck. "I'm getting horny; we better hurry up!"

"I... I really don't like this," Max said. Her voice trembled, and she felt her face heating up.

Rachel's grinned stupidly, her face turned red, just like Max's. She pointed her finger at the shaking Max. "Damned, look! That looks unhealthy. Her heart is gonna explode!" 

"Holy, crap, Max! Calm down, man! Jeez.." Chloe said. She let go of Max and then looked at Rachel. "I counted nineteen."

"No way! That's... wait!" Rachel said. She pointed at Max's nose. "This one doesn't count! It's barely visible!" 

__This is not nice; they make fun of me_. __I don't care anymore._ These were Max's last thoughts before she stormed out of the bathroom with tears in her eyes.

"Max! Where are you going?! C'mon! We were just joking around!" Chloe yelled, but Max was already in the hallway.

Back in the hallway, Max sniffed her nose, and then turned right and ran until she reached the stairs, which led to the first floor. As she ran down the stairs, she slipped on a banana peel. Luckily, Max managed to catch herself on the railing with her left hand. But she still landed with her tailbone right on the edge of the metal step. She let out a quiet yelp, and when her eyes snapped open, she was back in Arcadia Bay, lying on the stairs in her parents' house.

_Nope. I don't wanna deal with this now._

Max visualized herself and her parents watching TV, eating food, and laughing together. It helped. When Max blinked a few times, she was back in her new high school, lying down on the stairs. She supported herself on the railing as she carefully limped down the stairs.

_Warren, Chloe, Rachel, Victoria, Nathan, Brooke, they're no good. Maybe Kate will like me. I hate this school. I wanna go home, sleep, and take selfies._

Max turned on her camera as she walked past the cafeteria tables in the right corner. A weak smile formed on her face when she saw a small cafeteria counter, which had a single glass window in the middle, behind the tables. The window was open, and a sign was placed above it.

> Hotdog $1.50
> 
> Corndog $1.60
> 
> Pizza slice (Margherita) $2.00
> 
> Pizza slice (Pepperoni) $2.20 
> 
> Bottle of tap water (22 oz) $0.50

_Hot dogs; I like hotdogs. I have a shirt with a hotdog man on it._

With a picture of a man wearing a hotdog costume in her mind, Max walked away from the counter, passing the main entrance and the Principal's office, where she heard angry yellings coming from inside. Obviously, Max was curious. She placed her ear against the door of the Principal's office and listened carefully.

"...this is total slander! Wait until my dad hears about this! Good luck ever finding a new job!" a voice yelled. It was Nathan.

"I don't have to listen to this. Mister Wells, my job here is done. I suggest a week of detention or an extended suspension—"

The manly voice was interrupted by another, more raspy and tired one. Max assumed it was the principle, Mister Wells. "Yes, you're right, Mister Madsen, your job here is done. I will handle this matter from one on."

 _Oh shit!_ When Max heard approaching footsteps, she took a quick step back from the office and then turned left. She walked until she faced two hallways, one in front of her and the other to the left. The sounds of kids playing and shouting was coming from the left one, so she walked down the left hallway until she faced a big wooden door.


	13. Chapter 13

The bright summer sun blinded Max as she pushed open the heavy door. She took a step into the large, paved schoolyard. It took her a while to realize how busting full the whole yard was. Students had already formed cliques, standing in a circle, and just talking and laughing around. There was not a single lonely person alone in the yard, well, except Max.

_No need to panic, Max, everything is okay. Just behave... natural or something._

A loud bang coming from behind made Max jump in shock. She turned around; it was the door slamming shut. She scratched her head when she saw two boys, who were looking like twelve-graders, standing beside it, as if they're bouncers.

_They're like guarding the exit... there is no way out now._

Luckily, most other students seemed to have no interest in the lone Max. They were busy with each other, chit-chatting, laughing around, and trying to make new friends. Meanwhile, Max frantically looked around as if she was trying to find a hole to hide in. The hill in the middle of the yard, which was covered by perfectly cut green grass, got Max's attention. 

_Why is no one up there? It's not a very steep or tall hill. Oh, wait. Maybe it's because of the big wooden thing in the middle?_

The big wooden thing which was on top of the hill was a totem. It was as tall as a pine tree, with faces carved in from the bottom to the top. Max waved through all the students and arrived in front of the hill. She leaned her butt against one of the nearby table tennis tables and stared at the totem. Her mouth was hanging open in awe.

_I wanna go up there... I wonder how the grass would feel on my bare feet. I bet it would be super ticklish._

For a moment, Max played with the thought of removing her shoes and walking uphill barefoot. However, she realized that she might look like a freak, so no. When she arrived at the top, she also realized that she had her camera in her left hand. It was on and showed a time of 9:33 AM, twelve more minutes until recess ends. She turned it off and looked up at the totem.

 _It's so big,_ Max thought. She turned her attention back to the yard and saw in the corner of her eyes that the wooden main door at the far right opened. It was Rachel and Chloe, holding hands. All the students made room and glanced at the two girls, who turned right and hurried together across the yard. The two had a smile on their faces as if they don't care about anything around them. They passed the two table tennis tables and eventually reached another building at the far left in the yard.

_They just don't give a crap about what people think about them. I wish I could feel like that..._

Max's eyes were fixed on the lesbian couple. She watched as the two walked around the building and then eventually disappeared behind it. 

_I wonder where they're going and what they're doing behind this building. It's inside the yard, a part of this school... hmm..._

Max took a peek at her camera clock; it showed 9:39 AM, six minutes until recess ends. She then walked around the totem and stared at the opposite side of the yard, where she saw a big, green football field. It was empty and also a part of the schoolyard.

Miss Hoida and the other teacher crept into Max's peripheral vision from the right. They were patrolling the yard, basically walking around the green hill. Max decided to pull out her camera and take a selfie. She stepped beside the totem, pointed her camera at her face. When she pressed the snap button, she heard a young female voice.

"Oh, don't you worry, I'm gonna get you outta my way!" the voice said. Then, Max heard the sound of something dropping on the ground, followed by distant screams. The screams stopped, and then a voice yelled, "Max! Get down here!" It was miss Hoida, standing down the hill. She furrowed her brows and stared at Max.

"Okay, Miss Hoida, I'm sorry, Miss Hoida," Max shouted loudly, getting everyone's attention. She turned around and then walked down the hill, away from Miss Hoida.

Max heard Miss Hoida yell, "I said, come here... ugh," and then an annoyed moan, which was followed by laughter, coming from the opposite of the yard behind the hill.

With five more minutes to go, Max turned on her camera and browsed through her selfies. She looked at her butterfly picture, thinking, _such a pretty pic. What a shame that I can't show this to anyone; my whole naked thigh is visible!_ She did two circles around the green hill when she suddenly felt something hitting her in the back of her head. She then saw a bright flash before she realized that she was lying with her stomach on the ground. 

"Yo, this doesn't count! This bitch fucked me up!" a boy said. It was Max's classmate, Zack. He walked beside Max's head, picking up a football.

Feeling a mild pain in her right elbow, Max rolled over on her stomach. "Ouch!" she cried out.

"Holy shit, man. You almost killed her!" the jock who stood beside Zack said. "You better be a gentleman and help her up, ha-ha!"

"Shut the fuck up, idiot. I'm no homo, unlike you," the jock beside Zack said. He reached out his hands to Max and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her forcefully of the ground.

"Thank you," Max said quietly. She stared big-eyed, almost scared at her scrapped elbow. "Where is my camera?" 

"The fuck are you asking me?" Zack responded. He then pointed at the ground behind Max. "Wait, there!"

Max turned around and picked up her scratched camera. She turned it on, and it worked. Except now, there was another scratch on the screen. _Everything is fine as long as the lens is unscratched._ Max thought. Without a word, she walked away, and heard, "Did you see her face? I'm telling you, she was wet as fuck!" as she headed to the exit. 

_What the hell is wrong with them? Why can't they be nice to me?_

Once again, the main door opened. This time, it was Nathan. With his eyes crimson red and his fists clenched, he rushed past Max, toward the Jocks. 

Max chuckled, thinking, _heading to the douche bag meetup, huh?_

As the first recess of the day reached its end, the area near the exit door began to crowd with students. Max pushed through it and then stood still, hiding inside the mass. She heard a few girls taking pity on her, calling her a lonely freak, who walks around alone, or some shit like that. Thankfully, the bell rang soon, and Max went with the flow, back inside The Vortex High school.


	14. Chapter 14

Max's chest felt heavy; she found it increasingly hard to breathe. She almost lost her orientation as she squeezed through the narrow exit with all the students around her. Luckily, the chubby, purple-haired girl, who had a book in her hand, was right in front of her. Max simply followed her until she reached the main hall.

On the second floor, Max went to the toilet and then to her locker, where she grabbed her stuff for biology and history. Her classroom was still locked, and the teacher nowhere to be seen, so everyone had to wait right outside it. The students arrived one by one. They all leaned against the wall beside the classroom door. Warren came too, with Brooke was by his side. 

"See you at launch," Brooke said, beaming a smile at Warren. "And thanks for fixing the controls."

Warren nodded. "Any time, and if there's anything wrong again, let me know!"

"Thanks, you're the best. And about lunch... wanna eat together?" Brooke asked. She had a dreamy smile on her face.

"Uh, I'm not sure yet. I guess, yes. If you want," Warren stuttered out.

Brooke giggled loudly. "That's awesome, Warren! Can't wait to see you later!" With a big grin on her face, she walked inside classroom number 2.04, two doors away in front of Max's classroom.

Warren's eyes widened when he spotted Max. "Hey, Max! What's up?" he asked, leaning against the wall to the right of Max.

"Not much, just trying to survive. What about you?" Max asked, looking shyly at the ground.

"I repaired Brooke's quadcopter, and then I fixed my laptop," Warren said. He suddenly pulled a damn laptop out of his backpack and opened it. "I overclocked the processor; look how fast my laptop boots up now."

 _Is he a nerd or something? What is he talking about?_ Max thought. She stared at Warren's laptop, wondering, _and what's with the alien logo on the back?_

"That's cool. I left my laptop at home. There are like thousands of my selfies on it," Max said. She began to feel more relaxed now.

Warren grinned as he played around with his laptop. "That's awesome, Max. I wanna see them!" Suddenly, he covered his mouth in embarrassment. "I mean, wanna... I meant to ask if you wanna hang out at—"

When there was a sudden silence, Warren shut his mouth, and everyone's face turned to the end of the hallway. It was Chloe and Rachel, going up the stairs, walking toward Max and Warren.

As Max stared at the approaching couple, she suddenly remembered what the two jocks in her class said earlier.

_What did they say? They wanted to do something with Warren in the toilet! Should I warn Warren? Yeah, I better tell him that._

"Warren?" Max asked. She nudged Warren's elbow, trying to break him out of his trance. "This Zack guy and his friend are planning to prank you or something during launch."

Warren's body stiffened up, he grunted. "Damned, really? Thanks for letting me know."

Max nodded, pressing her lips together. "Yeah, they said something about a toilet. You better stay alert!"

Warren moaned, closed his eyes, and leaned his head against the wall behind him. "Good... I hate these jocks. Now I gotta stay away from the toilets too."

Chloe and Rachel gave each other an audible kiss on the lips and stopped right in the middle of the hallway, right in front of Max and Warren. There was total silence, which interrupted by an annoyed growl, coming from Victoria, who was also approaching from the far end of the hallway.

_What's Victoria's problem? Chloe and Rachel aren't doing anything wrong!_

Holding hands with Chloe, Rachel approached Max. "Hey, Max!" Rachel said in a high pitched tone.

Max's heartbeat started to rise. She nodded and said, "Hey."

Rachel pushed herself between Warren and Max. Chloe stepped in front of Warren and asked, "Can you fuck off for a moment?"

Rachel rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Chlo..." she whispered out.

Chloe cleared her throat. "Yeah, yeah. Can you fuck off for a moment... please?" she asked Warren, sounding tired.

Warren nodded and stepped away without a word. Max's eyes flicked between Rachel and Chloe. She widened her eyes and crossed her arms close to her chest. _I'm just gonna look sad. Maybe they'll feel sorry for me and leave me alone,_ Max thought. She then took a look at her scratched up elbow and winced. It didn't actually hurt, but she thought it looked kinda scary.

Chloe's raised her eyebrows, asking, "Whoa! You're hurt! What happened?"

"I fell on the ground, and now my elbow is scratched!" Max complained as she stared at her feet.

"Oh, boohoo!" Rachel yelled. She suddenly grabbed Max's right forearm and lifted it up in the air. "It's just two scratches. Don't be such a wuss, Max!"

Chloe gently slapped Rachel's ass with the back of her hand. "The fuck is wrong with you?"

"Nothing, you're just behaving like you're her mom or something! The fuck, Chloe?" Rachel asked.

"I'm worried about her like you're worried about Frank all the time!" Chloe cried out. She crossed her arms.

Rachel rolled her eyes and turned her head around to the laughter coming from behind. It was Victoria, who arrived with her two minions by her side.

"What's so funny?" Rachel asked, giving Victoria a piercing glare. "Do you think this whole thing is a joke or something?"

"Yes, kinda. I think you, and that punk-ass bull dike, who is gonna spend a few years in prison, is very entertaining," Victoria said.

"How about this. You take that back, or I'm gonna tell everyone that you and Courtney were making out in the toilet?" Rachel blurted out. She suddenly slapped her forehead and then looked at Chloe. "Oh, wait, damned."

Chloe responded with a casual shrug, while the cheeks of that girl beside Victoria, with the striped shirt and black hair, turned pink. It was Courtney, and she whispered something to Victoria's ears.

_Oh, dawg, so much drama here.  
_

"You started it, Rachel," Victoria said. Her tone changed to calm and collected. She pulled out her phone and typed something on it with an evil smile.


	15. Chapter 15

Rachel's arm was fast as a lightning bolt as she snagged the phone out of Victoria's hand. "Are you serious? Why are you so fucking retarded, Tori?" Rachel asked, glancing at Victoria's phone. "Why did you send him this shit?"

"Give me my phone back, you hoe. I told you to stop fucking around with me!" Victoria warned. She approached Rachel with her right hand reached out. "Give me that back now, or you're gonna regret that you were born."

Ignoring Victoria's order, Rachel took a few steps toward Chloe. The corners of her mouth slowly raised. Her knuckles turned white as she tightened her grip on Victoria's phone.

"Fucking bitch," Rachel muttered under her breath. She then let out an ear-splitting, short shriek as she threw the phone on the hard wooden floor with all her power. Max heard a big thud and then watched as the glass and plastic scattered all over the floor. One big chunk of white plastic landed right in front of Max's feet. She picked it up and noticed that it smelled like foul chicken and that a thick, yellow fluid dripped off it.

__There is something cereal_ wrong with me. I never had so many... uhh, what am I thinking? _

Dropping the piece on the floor, Max didn't even have time to think because all hell went loose. First, she heard a loud smack. It was Victoria's palm, hitting Rachel's right cheek at high speed from behind.

Rachel froze, and her mouth gaped open in surprise. "You're so dead," she whispered. She smoothly massaged her injured right cheek, where red marks, in the shape of an open palm, faded in.

"Got to hell, shithead. I'm going to the principle now," Victoria said. She turned around and tried to walk away. However, that was a mistake. Rachel lunged forward; her hands went straight to Victoria's hair. She grabbed Victoria's hair and pulled her backward toward the ground. Obviously, Chloe and Victoria's friends joined the fight. They slapped each other in the face repeatedly and started to wrestle on the floor again. When Max heard the sound of hair being ripped out of someone's scalp, she covered her ears.

_La la la, something good, hopefully, uhh... something good will make me forget about this tonight..._

A curious crowd of students gathered around the fighting girls. They held their phones vertically as they recorded them on the ground. It looked like Max was the only person here who didn't enjoy this moment. When the screams and shouts coming from the fighting girls turned into heavy breathing, she uncovered her ears. The five girls were still on the ground, interlocked in each other as if they just played a bad game of twister.

_Yep, that's exactly how it is. Like c'mon, what a scene. Maybe, everyone except me is on drugs right now? Or maybe I'm high and slowly losing my mind?_

Max pulled out her camera, because why not. She turned it on and then heard a piece of metal. It was a tin can, rolling out of the pile of angry girls toward Max. _Whoa, wowsers,_ Max thought. She snapped a photo of that can and then wondered why her forehead and her hands started to feel cold and wet.

 _No way. Another panic attack? I don't even feel like I'm panicking,_ Max thought. The tin can was rolling toward her and bumped against her feet. Max picked it up and then took a closer look at it. The can was empty, the cover was open, and a disgusting, artificial chicken smell was coming out of it. "The Dirty Chicken™ - Chicken Noodle soup" was written on the label, with five baby chickens drawn around it.

_Okay, now I'm getting confused again._

A few raindrops hit Max's face. She looked up and then realized that she was staring at a night sky. Looking around in confusion, Max saw a lot of pine trees and white tents around her. Her bare feet felt numb from the cold, muddy ground. She looked down and realized that she was only wearing her pajamas.

_Wait, how was that working? If I think loud here in this... reality, Oh shit, then I actually speak in my world. And I can't move too! _Wait, what the hell. My mind is broken, I think._  
_

To get out of this horrible, cold place, Max visualized her parents again. "What's going here?" a voice suddenly yelled as a light lit up inside the tent in front of Max.

It sounded like a guy, but it was too hard to make out the voice; the rain was just too noisy. When a black silhouette emerged from the lit-up tent in front of Max, she closed her eyes and imagined that her mom was right here, hugging her and kissing her. When she opened her eyes, she expected to be back in the hallway again. However, nope. The rain increased in intensity and the silhouette was now casually strolling toward her.

 _Maybe he wants the soup can?_ Max thought. She picked up the tin can and threw it at the person. "Here! Please, leave me alone."

The person stopped to catch the can out of the air and then continued his march toward Max. As the person got closer, Max could make out his features. Seeing the short haircut and the tuxedo suit, Max suggested that it was a man. There was also something hanging from his neck, a big camera.

_Alright, I'm getting outta here._

Max turned right and ran as fast as her legs could carry her. Sadly, a few feet away, she smashed face-first against a tree. The next thing she knew is that Chloe's face hovered above her.

"What the fuck? Max? You okay?" Chloe asked, shaking Max's head.

"Yeah, I'm super duper fine," Max assured. She opened her eyes and realized that she was back in the hallways of The Vortex, lying with her back on the floor.

Max felt something sharp poking her waist. She let hands slid across her stomach until she felt a paper, which was stuck inside her jeans near her waist.

"Wow, I get it... it's kinda sexy lying on the ground with me in your face but, really?" Chloe stuttered out. She flicked her head to Max's hand, which slid into her jeans.

Max let out a gasp and yelled, "Nonono! I'm not!" She wasn't actually masturbating at all; she just wanted to pull out that uncomfortable thing that was stuck between her jeans and her skin near her crotch. Still lying on the floor, Max fumbled under her jeans until she managed to grab something that felt like a soft plastic.

"What the fuck are you doing then? Are you massaging yourself?" Chloe asked, her cheeks turned pink.

"Nope, look!" Max narrowed her eyes skeptically when she pulled a polaroid picture out of her crotch.


	16. Chapter 16

Chloe snatched the polaroid picture out of Max's hand. "What's that?" She asked. Her eyes wandered over it. "That's a really adorable selfie, but what does _the older Max was here_ mean?"

Max reached out her hand toward Chloe. "Hey! Gimmie that back." Still lying on the hard, wooden floor, her back started to hurt. "I just wrote it on it for fun!"

"Sure." Chloe handled the photo over to Max. "Do you need help up, or you wanna take a nappy on the ground?"

"I'm not really tired, so no," Max said. She stared at the polaroid photo, which was a selfie of herself when she was nine years old. "the older Max was here," and a heart was drawn on the white part underneath it.

 _Does this make any sense? Probably not. This photo was destroyed by the storm after all. And I remember writing the older Max was here_ _during my earlier panic attack._

"Why was this photo in your... inside you?" Chloe asked. She grabbed Max's hand and helped her off the ground. "But that's a good hiding place, by the way."

"Thanks, I guess." Max stuffed the polaroid photo in her left pocket and turned on her digital camera. She examined the image she snapped of the tin can, which rolled out of the fighting girls. "This is not good," she whispered to herself when there was no can visible on the picture. Instead, a large chunk of Victoria's white phone, which looked blurry, as if it was sliding toward Max. _Oh, no. Wait a moment... What if I picked up the phone instead of the damn can?_ Max felt like puking now. She slowly turned her head to the left and then saw Rachel picking something up at the far back of the hallway.

A quick glimpse to the left, and then Max saw it. A guy in a black tuxedo, talking with Victoria. Just like during Max's "Panic attack," he had a huge digital camera hanging around his neck.

_White tents, rainy weather, a chicken noodle soup can, and this guy! What does this mean?_

Max turned her attention to Rachel, who approached Victoria, and the guy who wore a tuxedo. "Who is that?" Max asked, looking at Chloe while pointing at the tuxedo-boy.

Chloe gasped and covered her mouth in shock. "What? Oh my god, Max! You like him, huh? That's the legendary Mark! You don't know about him? Have you been living under a rock?" 

Now red-faced, Max shook her head. "No, I don't even know him! So, his name is Mark?"

Chloe chuckled. "Yep, that's Mark, the guy you threw Victoria's phone at. You better apologize to him!"

"Oh, shit. Did I hurt him?" Max asked. Her eyes were fixed at Mark, who raised one eyebrow at Victoria.

"Nah, he caught the phone like a pro!" Chloe said. She then crossed her arms. "What the hell was going on... with you? You freaked out like a madman again!"

 _I'm just gonna tell her that I had a panic attack,_ Max thought. "I had a panic attack. I guess you girls scared me."

Chloe shrugged her shoulders and started to grin innocently. "Hey! This time it was her fault," she said, pointing at Rachel, who was in the middle of handling Victoria a chunk of her broken phone.

"Alright, don't worry. But... what about Mark? What's his deal?" Max asked. Pulling out her polaroid selfie, she took another closer look at it. _The older Max was here, plus the red heart. Maybe I actually traveled back in time? Nah, this isn't a movie or a video game._

"He and his family survived the great storm of Arcadia Bay! You never heard of Arcadia Bay?" Chloe asked.

_Should I tell her that I actually lived in Arcadia Bad and that the storm destroyed our house?_

Max stared at the ground and scratched her nose. "Yeah... I heard about it..." _She didn't ask if I lived there, so I'm not lying right now._

"Aha, you're kinda weird, you know? But in a good way," Chloe said. 

Max shrugged her hands and pressed her lips together. "What can I say? That's just how I am," she said.

"Yeah, I... can tell," Chloe said. She suddenly sniffed the air. "Do I smell... chicken?"

Max took a slow, deep breath through her nose. She caught the faint smell of wet grass instead. "I smell a little... dirt?" she said. 

Chloe didn't respond, she kept her silence, just like Max and all the students around her. Rachel was done talking with Victoria too. She gave her a friendly, "Fuck you," before walking back to Chloe. She then kissed Chloe on the lips before turning her attention to Max. 

"Chicken soup, huh?" Rachel said. She placed her right hand on her hip and leaned her head to the right. "And why did you threw the queen bee's phone at Mark?" Rachel asked, raising her voice.

"I don't remember doing that... panic attack... you know... Can you tell me what I did?" Max asked.

"You said _he wants a soup can_ or something like that. Then you picked up a piece of Victoria's phone and threw it at Mark," Rachel said, shaking her head. "Like... what the fuck? Are you high? If yes, then I wanna know... what did you take? Because I want it too!"

"Good to know... and like I said, panic attack," Max said. She noticed that Chloe's gaze was fixed at her, so she pulled out her camera and pretended to be busy.


	17. Chapter 17

Max's peripheral vision turned blurry as her eyes focused on her cracked camera screen. She browsed through her selfies again and started to ignore Chloe and Rachel.

Rachel took a step toward Max. "Hey! What are you doing? We are still talking with you!" she said, sounding cranky.

Max lowered her camera and stared at Rachel. "I'm looking at my selfies," she said in a monotonous voice.

"Yeah, we know that, smartass!" Rachel said. She then turned her face to Chloe. "Can we talk? Alone!"

Max shook her head as she turned her attention to her camera gain. _What the hell is their problem?_ She was still curious about Mark, so she turned her ears to his conversation with Victoria while pretending to play around with her camera.

"That suit fits you well! I bet it was expensive too, am I right?" Victoria asked Mark. She slowly and sensually licked her lips.

"That's correct. I did a few photoshoots for my dad's co-worker friend," Mark said. His left index finger gently slid over his camera as if he was petting a kitten. "He loved my work so much, uhh, that he offered me a few... side hustles, I guess if you wanna call them like that."

"I see," Victoria started to grin and laugh nervously. "Now that we're talking about photoshoots... What about doing a few headshots? You said you're free tomorrow?"

Mark gently grabbed Victoria's chin and then slowly pushed her face it to the left and right. His eyes wandered all over her face. "You are definitely an... excellent subject... I'll see what I can do."

Victoria jumped and clapped her hands together in excitement. "Awesome! I can't wait! My face will sell well! Trust me!"

Mark nodded in approval. "Definitely."

 _This is so weird again. This whole school feels ominous like everyone is out of there mind. Or maybe it's just me,_ Max thought. Her heart skipped a beat when she suddenly felt someone poking her back. It was Warren, and he asked, "Hey, you alright?"

"Sure. I can I ask you something? Mark is a student here, right? And how old is he?" Max asked, narrowing her eyes a little bit.

Warren's eyes slowly widened. "No idea, but I... you should ask him that yourself..." he stammered out.

"Better not," Max muttered under her breath. She took a closer look at Mark and noticed that a light beard covered half of his face. 

"By the way, have you heard about the game called counter-strike?" Warren asked. "I already have like ten thousands of headshots. I'm so good at video games!"

"Cool..." Max nodded in disinterest. Her eyes were fixed on Victoria, whose fingers walked up across Mark's chest until they reached his tie.

"By the way, I saw you taking photos. Are you trying to become a photographer?" Warren asked. 

Max nodded again. This time she gave him a friendly fake smile. "Awesome," she said to Warren. Max was now staring at Mark, who gently grabbed Victoria's hand, pushing it away.

"Well, uh, so, about lunch? Are you coming?" Warren asked.

"Sure," Max muttered out, hoping that Warren stops talking so she can listen to Mark's conversation with Victoria.

"Yes!" Warren loudly whispered. Max saw in the corner of her eye that he balled his right fist in victory. 

Warren was happy that Max said yes, so he finally shut his mouth. He pulled out his phone and wrote something on in. Max didn't care. Her eyes were now on Victoria, who suddenly grabbed Mark's tie and pulled him to herself. Victoria puckered her lips out and closed her eyes, ready to kiss him. However, Mark yelled, "Whoa, calm down, Vic," and pushed her away.

Mark suddenly glanced at Max and asked, "Can you believe this?" shaking his head.

Max didn't say a word; she knew that she had her typical doe in headlights look on her face right now. 

_This Mark guy is clearly a teacher! I mean, why would he wear such an expensive-looking suit? But Chloe and Rachel called him Mark so... I don't know. Plus, Victoria just tried to kiss him!_

Victoria had a sour expression on her face. She stared at Mark, who approached Max. 

Max stared at Mark's expensive designer shoes. "Uhh, sorry for throwing stuff at you," she whispered out.

Mark, who towered over Max, leaned forward to her and turned his head to the left. "What did you say? Can you speak up a little?"

Max raised her voice slightly, "I said, I'm sorry for throwing that broken piece of phone at you. I had a panic attack." She noticed that Victoria's face turned red in jealousy and that she tapped her feet on the ground.

Mark wrapped his left hand around his camera lens. "Well, thanks for apologizing. I'll forgive, this time," he said, smiling. He never broke eye contact with Max.

"You too," Max said. The sounds around her drowned out when she turned her attention to her camera again, browsing through her photos. Around 60 selfies later, she felt a light touch on her shoulder. It was an old, bearded man, Max's teacher. Max still didn't know his name.

_I should probably ask Kate what his name is._

"Maxine... Max. I'm sure you already know that cameras are not allowed inside this facility," the teacher said.

Max quickly shoved her camera in her right pocket. "Oh, yeah, I'm sorry, Mister, uh."

The teacher shook his head as he passed Max before unlocking the classroom door. 


	18. Chapter 18

The students gathered in front of the classroom door as the teacher began to unlock it. A tall boy stepped in front of Max. She followed him. When he suddenly stopped, she bumped face-first into his back. Max's nose felt sore, and her eyes started to burn from the pain. Then, something pushed Max from behind, causing her to fall on the ground. 

The pain in Max's nose was soon replaced by a cold sensation on her face and around her stomach and extremities. Wiping what felt like a thick, chilled fluid from her face, Max realized that she was laying stomach-first on the wet, muddy grass of a forest.

 _I'm back in this reality. If I think here, I talk in real life, that_ was Max's last thought before her mind went blank. Max ran her now smelly and dirty fingers over her nostrils, hoping that her nose won't start bleeding. Lying on the ground, she wanted to go back to her reality, so she imagined her mom appearing, saying that everything is going to be okay.

Sadly, something suddenly grabbed Max's left upper arm, making her shriek in shock. "Please, no!" 

It was a human-looking figure, and it tried to help Max off the ground. "Whoa! Watch out, man! Are you hurt?" a voice said, sounding young and unfeminine.

Max swiped her mud-covered forehead with the back of her hand. "I'm sorry. It was my fault."

"Fucking hell. My bad, I must be blind," another voice said. It was coming from behind Max.

Max let herself be lifted off the ground by the human and took a closer look at her surroundings. She turned on the flashlight on her camera, and her heart skipped a beat. She was surrounded by her classmates, and they all looked blurry and dimmed. A few seconds later, they started to walk inside a nearby big, white tent. Visualizing her possible options, Max decided to _follow_ them inside. Inside the tent, Max scratched her head. Everything looked just like her classroom, except that the tables and chairs were replaced by cheap, _white plastic_ garden chairs and tables. She turned off her camera, the light coming from the glass candle lanterns, which were hanging on the walls, were enough.

 _Don't think,_ Max thought as she sat down at her desk beside Kate. Kate looked blurry, just like everything else around Max.

"What do you mean, don't think?" Kate asked. She chuckled and then placed her big bible on her desk. "Is everything alright? You look pale."

 _I could..._ "I... nothing..." Max mumbled out. "I'm alright. I'm just shaken up, that fight was intense as hell."

Kate nodded in agreement. "Yeah, these girls are so full of hate sometimes. They need to relax, maybe some peppermint tea would help them to calm down."

 _Yeah, or a brain surgery,_ Max thought. She grinned smugly, placed her arms on her desk, resting her chin upon them.

"I'm sorry, brain what?" Kate asked. A mild flush crept on her face.

 _Oh..._ Max's raised her head off the desk. She wanted to test if she could talk using her thoughts. She closed her mouth and turned her face to Kate, thinking, _I love tea_... _it makes my headache go away._

"Me too. I have like a huge collection of tea... things. Such a shame most kids..." Kate scrunched up her face and raised her shoulders in disgust. "...drink soda nowadays."

Max nodded and smiled at Kate. She didn't know what to answer, so she said, "I agree, but I mostly drink orange juice."

The whole class turned silent when the teacher was done preparing his papers for his biology lesson. He wanted everyone's attention and started talking about bacterias and stuff. Sadly, Max now had a problem; she had to suppress her inner monologue. Visualizing things seemed to be okay, but talking inside her head causes her to speak loudly to everyone.

To stop her apparent panic attack, and to try to go back to her reality, she visualized her _dad,_ standing in front of her, saying, blink _, and you'll—_

Suddenly, everyone's attention was on Max. "Max, please be quiet and listen. Or do you have any questions?" the teacher asked.

Max shook her head, "No." With a blank mind, she let her eyes be fixed on the teacher, who wrote something on the air. 

"Alright then," the teacher said to Max before starting to talk about viruses and how they attack the human body. 

"This sucks, I'm so doomed," Max whispered to herself. She then started to smile and whisper again, "Wait a moment, they don't hear me whispering?"

It seemed to be a good idea for that moment. Max simply rested her left elbow on her desk and covered her mouth with her left palm so that no one can see her mouth moving.

"Okay, I think this works. I just have to be very quiet," Max whispered. "And I somehow have to get out of here. _Mom,_ Dad, I wish you were here with—"

Suddenly, giggles were coming from Victoria's table. Still hiding her face, Max turned her head left and saw Victoria and her friends laughing. 

"She called for her mom! How pathetic!" Victoria yelled. She suddenly raised her arm in the air with a devilish smile. "Umm, excuse me. I think Maxine needs a vaccine!"

Victoria's eyes wandered over her friends as if she was waiting for approval. They eventually started to laugh. Fortunately for Max, no one else started to laugh. The teacher wasn't amused either. "Victoria, please shut your mouth," he said, shaking his head. "Well, now that we're talking about vaccines, does anyone know, who developed the first vaccine for rabies?"

The classroom was silent, and the teacher's eyes wandered all over the students. Max heart sunk when the teacher's eyes met with hers. When Warrens raised his hand and said, "I know the answer," Max closed her eyes and tilted her head back.

 _Thank god the freaking nerd knows everything, Max_ thought, causing the classroom to erupt in laughter. Max slapped herself in the face, damned _, I forgot!_

"Forgot what?" the teacher asked. He walked toward Max and said, "Maxine, can you please follow me outside?"

Without a word, Max stood up and followed the teacher outside. When the teacher opened the door, she visualized the wooden hallway floor, and the blue lockers with a pink penis sprayed on it as vivid as possible. She hoped she will be back in the hallways of The Vortex.


	19. Chapter 19

Max heard the rain outside, dripping on the roof of the tent as she stepped into her teacher's muddy footprints. She followed him to the tent exit and watched him grabbing into thin air. For Max, it looked like he opened an invisible door before he pushed through the soft fabric of the tent.

 _When I leave this tent, I will be back in Seattle,_ Max thought, no longer caring about her surroundings _  
_

Sadly, when Max left the tent, all she felt was the rain, drizzling on her face. She was still in the forest, surrounded by tents.

"Alright, Max. What is going on with you?" the teacher asked as he rubbed his forehead. "Is there any way I can help you feel better... or?" 

"No idea, I don't even know where I am right now," Max said. The rain decreased in intensity, but a powerful, chilly gust of wind made her whole body shudder. "My fingers are so cold..."

The teacher grabbed Max's now shaking hands. "I understand, we better get you to the nurse now. This is not normal. It's so hot and humid in here, but you're freezing!"

Max's arms felt weak and cold, like spaghetti. She let her head dangle to her sides as she limped behind the teacher. Thankfully, the teacher grabbed her under the arm and supported her up.

 _What a dirty place,_ Max thought. Looking around, she noticed that all the tents to her right were placed in a row. Each one had unreadable numbers scribbled on them. _It's like the classrooms were replaced by tents, freaky._

The teacher started to laugh. "That's a rude thing to say, isn't it?"

"I guess so—" Max didn't see the deep puddle in front of her. She stepped right into it. Sadly, the teacher's grip on her arm wasn't powerful enough, so she slipped, but at least she landed right on her hands and knees. 

The teacher rushed to Max and lifted her off the ground. "Holy moly, I better call an ambulance for you."

"Mister teacher, can you make it stop?" Max asked. 

"Stop what? I don't even know what is going on." The teacher pulled a phone out of his pockets.

"Same. I think I'm having a panic attack. I don't even know where I am right now," Max said. The air was bitter cold. Her nose started to run. "I wanna be back in school."

"You are, look around." The teacher pointed at a paper, which hung on a long metal fence that had barbed wires on top of it. 

_Wowsers. So the classroom got replaced by tents and the lockers by a long fence._

Max walked to the fence and ripped the paper of it and read it. 

> Showers ->
> 
> <\- Entrance
> 
> <\- Security
> 
> Rations/kitchen->
> 
> Clinic/Doctor->

_Rations? Clinic? What is this place? Is this a hospital camp or something?_

"You're in The Vortex. Now put that down and follow me, please." the teacher said. His voice was deeper and he sounded more authoritarian.

Max followed his order and then almost passed out in shock when the teacher suddenly grabbed a wooden railing, which was sticking out of the ground. The next thing he did is sinking into the muddy ground.

Only the teacher's head was sticking out when he yelled, "C'mon Max, what are you waiting for?"

 _Wowsers, I can't go down there. No way._ Max breathing increased in speed. _Remember what mom said, don't hyperventilate._ Max turned right and already felt light-headed. She wanted to run, but she lost the feeling in her legs.

The teacher surfaced from the ground like he was a submarine. "Take a deep breath, Max and inhale... exhale," he said, approaching Max. It took a while for Max to realize that she was lying with her back on the ground. She followed his breathing technique instruction and closed her eyes. When she opened them, her heart dropped, and then she started to smile.

Seeing the fluorescent lights on the ceiling, Max shot off the ground. She was back in the hallways of The Vortex. _Yes, I'm back!_ "I'm cured! It worked! Thank you, mister teacher," she yelled. _At least I can use my thoughts now without everyone knowing._

The teacher let out an audible sigh and said, "If you say so, then... alright." He picked up the paper from earlier and narrowed his eyes. "Max? Care to explain about.... this?"

"Huh? What do you mean? It was hanging there!" Max pointed at the wooden wall where the paper was hanging on earlier.

The teacher folded the paper and put it into his pocket. "Alright, let's go back inside the classroom."

Max was so happy that she didn't even care about the weirded-out glares coming from her classmates. She sat down beside Kate with a smile. However, her fingertips still felt a little numb from the cold, so she put them in her pockets.

_I still feel cold. Maybe I teleported to another place or something? Oh man, it feels so good being able to think without everyone knowing what I'm thinking. Whatever, I'm back now, time to try to focus on school._ _I don't wanna disappoint my parents with bad grades._


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I fixed an error in chapter 6. It's beard, not bead. XD

Max still had 30 minutes of biology class left. She felt happy that she was back in her reality and didn't even care about the sniggers and confused looks from her classmates. She listened to her teacher rambling about bacterias and how long they can survive under extreme conditions.

_I think it's time to take a selfie after all this trouble. I mean, the teacher would understand it._

Discreetly pointing her camera at her face, Max pressed the snap button. Sadly, when the teacher stared at her, she realized that he saw her taking the selfie.

"Shh! Everyone. Max just took a self-portrait in the middle of my lecture. Does anyone know why she did that?" the teacher asked.

"Because she's an autistic child?" Victoria sneered. She waited until her friends cheered her before starting to laugh. 

"No, not at all. It's because Max wants our attention. She wants us to tell her to stop playing with her camera and instead focus on my lecture. After all, your grades will affect your life," the teacher said. "Now, Max, let me ask you, did you pay any attention to what I said during the last thirty minutes?"

Max nodded shyly, staring at the teacher like a sad puppy with her big blue eyes. "Of course." She almost chuckled because she didn't listen at all.

"Okay, then. Let me ask you a question, Max," the teacher said. "What do we call an organism that needs oxygen to survive?"

"Umm, you're asking me?" Max started to fiddle around with her camera. "Let me think, ugh... anna air robin?

"Wrong," the teacher yelled in a deep voice. "Does anyone here knows their stuff?"

Feeling defeated, Max let her head drop on her desk, creating a loud smacking noise. She heard Victoria's screeching voice, "I know the answer! I know it!"

"Yes V—" the teacher said, being interrupted by Victoria.

"The answer is aerobic. Aerobic organisms cannot survive without oxygen!" 

"Good job, Victoria. But please raise your hands next time and wait until I call you out before you speak," the teacher said. He widened his eyes and glanced over at Max. "And you! I want you to pay attention, understand?"

"Yes, sure," Max said in a quiet voice as she burrowed her head in her arms.

"What was that? Speak up and don't even think about falling asleep during my lecture!"

"Yes, Mister..." Max raised her chin on her desk with a tired smile. "...sir."

"Excellent, that's what I want to hear from you!"

 _I didn't even last one day before embarrassing myself, not one damn day! Time to tell my mom to send me to a new school._

After what felt like an eternity, the bell rang. Max grabbed her books and papers, stood up, and walked to the classroom exit. 

_Finally! I'm so hungry! I can't wait to eat my mom's sandwiches! I think I will eat both. Oh, yeah! My mouth is already—_

"Max! Where the hell do you think you are going? Sit down, now!" the teacher yelled from his desk.

Now confused, Max walked back to her seat. She looked at Kate, asking her, "What is wrong? It's time for lunch—"

The teacher interrupted, "Max, I'm sure you can read English, right? Take a look at your schedule, what do you see?"

There was a tense silence in the classroom while Max looked awkwardly at her schedule paper. _Biology until ten-thirty AM, then history..._

Max spotted her history book on her desk. _Whoops._ "Oh, yeah, my history book, that means we have a history now!" she whispered to herself. The class started to giggle, and Max sat down shyly, opening her history book.

_It's like my brain is taking a shit right now._

For Max, time went by quickly. She was very focused on the teacher, who talked about a mass grave of Native Americans, which was located in a small town on the northwest coast of the United States that was destroyed by a super-sized tornado.

Chloe suddenly interrupted the teacher; she didn't even bother to raise her hand. "Yo, are you talking about Arcadia Bay?" she asked. "It got destroyed by this freak storm too! Why didn't the government warn the townspeople?"

The teacher jumped a little and scratched his head. "What? What does the mass grave have to do with Arcadia Bay?"

"The mass grave was located in Arcadia Bay! I'm not stupid!" Chloe said. Max noticed that Rachel was stroking Chloe's thighs under the table.

"Well, yes, I see. You're very knowledgeable about this subject." The teacher took a deep breath before clearing her throat. "I guess... you know more than I do, so I can't give you a satisfying answer."

Chloe suddenly looked disappointed at Max and pointed her finger at her. "Well, we can ask her! She and her family were the only survivors. No wait, Mark and his parents survived too!"

 _I was only eleven years old when it happened. How does Chloe now about me and Arcadia Bay anyway? Whatever, that's none of hers or anyone's business,_ Max thought. She crossed her arms and stared at the teacher in silence. 

The teacher changed the subject and Max kept her silence. Class continued without any more problems, and despite her eyelids feeling like lead, Max mostly managed to stay awake. When the bell rang, she quickly stacked all her books and papers and rushed to the door.

"Max, before you go, can we talk for a moment?" the teacher yelled from his desk.

Max rolled her eyes as she pushed through the students, who were pouring out of the classroom. "Yeah?"

"I know about your problems, but still, I want don't want you to fall asleep," the teacher said. "I can't let this happen again. You know, if the other students see you falling asleep without consequences, they do it too."

"Won't happen again, I swear," Max said. Fear crossed her face, but she wasn't afraid at all, she just wanted to look afraid, so the teacher takes pity in her and won't punish her.

_Wowsers, why doesn't the teacher shave his beard? I can't even see his face! So lame. This whole school is lame and boring._


	21. Chapter 21

"Alright, I'm counting on you. By the way, you look pale, I suggest a hot dog at the cafeteria." the teacher said. "When you come back, I wanna see you active and engaged with the other students and me."

Max nodded, giving him a slight smile before rushing out of the classroom. She felt high pressure in her bowels, that's why she threw all her stuff in her locker before running inside the girls' bathroom. The only exception was her camera; she always keeps it with her.

_No matter where I am, I'm always ready to take the shot._

As Max rushed to the toilet stalls, she took a glimpse in the mirror, thinking, _I really do look pale, maybe I'm a ghost? A ghost that can travel to alternate realities, or something like that._

A girly voice, coming from one of the stalls at the far back, caused Max to freeze. "Ouch! Don't twist it! It looks so expensive!" the voice said.

The voice sounded like one of Victoria's friends, and for a moment, Max thought about running out of the toilet. However, Max badly needed to take a dump right now.

Then, Max heard Victoria's screechy voice, saying, "Shut up, it's not even yours anyway!"

"So what? It's made out of gold! Look how shiny it is! I can't give it back!" Victoria's friend responded.

"But you can't show it to anyone! If that Jesus-loving bitch sees you wearing it, you're screwed!" Victoria said.

"Whatever, come here, you hoe!" 

_It's Victoria and one of her friends! Are they together in the same stall? What are they doing—_ Suddenly, Max's stomach rumbled loudly. _I need to take a shit! But I'm gonna have to do this silently._

Max heard a kiss, and then a few quiet moans and giggles. She thought about leaving again. However, she didn't want to risk shitting in her pants, so she tiptoed toward the first stall and opened the door. Before getting inside, Max looked around and noticed that all the doors had a green, except the last one at the farthest back, which had a red sign underneath the door handle. 

_The last stall is probably occupied by Victoria. At least I'm far away from them._

Inside the door stall, Max pulled up the toilet seat. Sadly, it slipped under Max's fingers and created a loud bang, which made Max's earring and got Victoria's attention. 

"Wait, there is someone in there! Be quiet," Victoria said with a little fear in her voice.

"Vic! Stop it! You're just hearing things! Come here now!" Victoria's friend said.

"Yeah, yeah. You're right, I guess. It's the weed; I'm just getting paranoid again."

Max wiped the nonexistent sweat from her forehead and sighed quietly. _That was close..._ As she pulled down her pants and sat on the way too cold toilet seat, she realized how stupid this whole situation was. _I'm in the damn girls' bathroom. It's probably the safest place in the entire universe. Why am I so afraid?_

Almost ready to squeeze out a turd, Max closed her eyes and thought about her tasty, juicy, homemade turkey sandwiches and where she is gonna eat them. But then she remembered saying yes to Warren, who asked her about eating lunch together. 

_Why is it so hard to just say no? It's such a simple word with only two letters. At least Warren seems like a nice guy, and I need friends anyway._

The laughing from the other stall grew in volume, and Max noticed something blue in the corner of her eyes. She squinted her eyes and looked up. It was the blue butterfly again, calmly sitting on the ceiling with its wings slowly clapping together.

_The last time a blue butterfly flew over me, I saw Rachel. What if she's spying on me right now? Maybe she's filming me taking a dump. What if she uploads it on Youtube?_

Max decided to check if Rachel is hiding somewhere in the bathroom. She stood up and pulled her pants halfway up. Opening the stall door a little, she peeked her head outside.

_No one here, perfect._

Max shat as quiet as she could, and then pulled on the toilet paper roll, which hung the wrong way. She cleaned her private parts and then flushed the toilet. When the sound of the toilet tank filling up stopped, there was total silence.

_They might have heard me, but I'm outta here anyway._

The stall door squeaked as Max slowly and gently pushed it open. She rushed to the faucet and splashed some lukewarm water on her face and washed her hands.

 _Much better,_ Max thought. After wiping her face off with a tissue paper, Max blinked a few times until her vision cleared. _I look better now. Pooping really helps. Oh, wait... no way..._

When Max saw Rachel's reflection in the mirror, leaning against the wall, her heart skipped a beat. Max pretended that she didn't saw her. She threw her used tissue in the bin before heading to the exit door.

Rachel stood there with her index finger pressed against her lips. She shushed Max. "Stay quiet."

"What's wrong?" Max's whispered.

"With me? You mean, what's wrong with you! You look like a scared kitten," Rachel whispered.

"You just surprised me. You're like The Vortex ninja," Max whispered, grabbing the door handle of the exit door.

"Thanks," Rachel whispered.

"What's up with you, why so sneaky?" Max pushed down the door handle. "Oh wait, you're here because Victoria, right? I think she is hiding inside one of the stalls, so be careful."

Rachel shushed Max again and waved at her to come closer. "I'm sure you know about my feud with Victoria."

Max nodded without a word.

"Well, Chloe kinda fucked up this morning. She might go to prison soon. And I'll follow her everywhere, prison, death, doesn't matter." Rachel walked to one of the mirrors and stared at her reflection. She let out a dramatic sigh. "Maxine, no wait, Max! It was nice knowing you, but you better leave now."

"Rachel, wait. Can I ask you a question? About Chloe—"

"Not now, you can ask me anything later, just visit me in prison." With her phone in her hand, Rachel walked silently toward the toilet stalls.

_Alright. I will definitely not mess with Rachel and Victoria. Time to eat._

Leaving the bathroom, Max ran to her locker and grabbed her two sandwiches. She put one sandwich close to her nose and sniffed it. 

_Yummy._


	22. Chapter 22

With her camera in her pocket and two sandwiches in her right hand, Max strolled downstairs to the cafeteria, which was already packed. Only two tables were free, so Max sat at the one near the food counter, which had only two chairs. Max placed her camera on the table and unpacked her sandwich before crumbling the aluminum foil in a tight ball. 

Max moaned quietly. "So tasty, I love you, mom," she whispered as she chewed on her sandwich like a starved child. _What a crazy day. At first, I met Chloe and her lover, Rachel. They smashed the mirror of Victoria's mom's SUV and ran off. Victoria and Rachel hate each other so much, like what the hell is going on between them?_

A long piece of meat hung from the corner of Max's sandwich. Max grabbed it like a worm and showed it in her mouth. _Dear diary. Today I learned that I can travel into alternate realities. Sadly, I made a complete fool out of my self, and now everyone thinks that I'm a dumbshit who talks to herself._

Starting to feel a little overwhelmed by all the people around her, Max began to look around, trying to find some familiar faces. _I can't find Warren or Kate. Didn't Warren ask me to go out for lunch? Maybe the bullies found him? Hopefully, they won't shove his head into a toilet._

Max heard a buzzing sound and a voice coming from the food counter behind her. "Alright. Shut it down and clean up," the voice said. _Kate is such a shy and kind person. Just as I am. And I even sit beside her, how lucky can I be? Imagine me sitting beside Victoria or this Nathan fool for the whole next year?_

Max ripped off the hard crust of her sandwich and threw it on her table. _I don't like that part. Too hard, and it makes my mouth dry. I could feed that to squirrels. I love squirrels, they're so cute. I should ask my mom to cut—  
_

A few students pointed at a well-dressed men, who entered the main hallway from the entrance. His eyes were glued on his phone, and he muttered, "Where is that little princess? I told her to stay away from that punk," under his breath.

Max took another big bite and got a piece of salad stuck in her windpipe. After a few attempts, she managed to cough it up her throat. _Shit, ugh, that was close. Don't try to die on your first day at school._

When Max was halfway finished with her sandwich, Chloe and Rachel appeared from upstairs. Rachel stopped and tightly grabbed Chloe by the arm when she spotted the men near the entrance. Suddenly, Chloe turned around and walked away, while Rachel yelled, "Hey dad."

_Whoa! That man is Rachel's dad! He looks rich as hell!_

"There you are! We need to talk. Now!" the man yelled as he put his phone away.

Rachel, as unfazed and calm as always, walked down the stairs to her father with a smile on her face. "Wazzup, daddy? Send any bad boys to prison today?" 

"Sup Daddy? Who the hell do you think I am? I'm not one of your friends. Now come with me, let us have a chat."

"Well, as far as I know, you're still my father, right? Wait a moment... Oh no, you're gonna tell me that I'm adopted, am I right?" Rachel asked with a little sarcasm in her voice. She brushed her hair with her hands and looked around. When she saw Max, sitting alone, she waved at her, and yelled, "Hey Max, everything alright?"

The students glanced over at Max, whose face was already red. "I'm fine," Max awkwardly yelled back.

"Alright, see you later in class," Rachel yelled again at Max, this time even louder. She pulled out her phone and started type.

As Max sat alone at her table, munching on her sandwich, another person appeared from the second floor. This time, it was Warren, and he instantly spotted Max. 

_What the heck? Does he have supervision?_ Max thought, watching Warren walking toward her. _Hopefully, he won't be mad that I accidentally called him a nerd._

Sitting down at Max's table, Warren rolled his eyes. "Sorry for the delay, I had to help Brooke with her drone again. It keeps getting broken for some reason. But whatever, I'm super Warren, and I'm here for everyone."

"Same. I had to, uh, yeah." Max laughed shyly and continued eating her meal. "Uh, I just saw Rachel's father. What's his... deal?"

"He is the D.A. Better stay away from him though, I heard he is corrupt."

_I don't even know what a D.A. is. Should I ask him? Better not. He is like a super nerd. What if he thinks I'm too stupid for him and runs away?_

"So, he's like a bad cop? And why do you think that he is corrupt?" Max asked, her mouth felt dry, she stared at the drinking fountain near the entrance.

"D.A., district attorney!" Warren was silent for a second and then shrugged. "I read it on the internet. He and the Prescott family are befriended... you know who the Prescotts are, right?"

Max shook her head with her mouth full of food. "Nope."

"Where did you live in the last two years, under a rock?" Warren asked. "Wait a moment, Chloe said something about you surviving a storm, right? You lived in this town, what was it called Arcadia City?"

"Yes, Arcadia Bay. My parents and I had to flee. We lived in Portland for a while until we moved to Seattle two months ago," Max said. Suddenly, an image of herself, sitting the back of a car flashed in her mind. _Wowsers, what was that?_

"That's so awesome! I mean, I'm talking about the tornado, you know, science-wise! That was the biggest tornado ever recorded in history!" Warren said before licking his dry lips. "Now tell me, did you actually see that thing with your own eyes?" 

"Yes, I did," Max said. She noticed that Warren stared at her extra sandwich, which was lying on the table. "Are you hungry?"

"You sure? I'm not—" suddenly, Warren's stomach growled like a lion. "—hungry."

"You can have it." Max pushed the sandwich to him with a smile. "About Rachel's father, why—"

"Alright, alright, if you insist," Warren interrupted. He started to devour the sandwich like a hyena its prey. "Let's talk about you. Your story is way more interesting than Rachel's father."

Max felt kinda weird talking about her past. But whatever, at that moment, she believed it might help her process all the horrifying things she went through in her past. "Alright, I remember a loud noise in my room, waking me up." Max took another bite of her sandwich. "Then I looked out of the window and saw the massive, dark tornado. I think it was bigger than the whole town—"

A sudden, loud, explosion-like sound caused all the tables to vibrate for a moment. "What in oblivion was that?" Warren asked. To Max confusion, he chuckled and then said, "I can't believe I just said that."

A few curious students rushed outside, where the sound was coming from. Also, another picture flashed in Max's mind. This time, it was Max herself, exiting a car, before a bright flash of light blinded her.

"Wanna go outside?" Warren asked. "That sounded like a massive explosion!" 

Unimpressed by the explosion sound, Max took another bite and reached the part of her sandwich, which had a lot of sauce. It was the homemade, mustard-mayonnaise sauce from her mom. It tasted so delicious that Max felt like a party was going on in her mouth. "Nope, I'm way too hungry. I'll eat and hold my position. You can go outside and check if everything is alright."

Warren stood up before sitting down again. "Nah, you are way more interesting than a random explosion outside. I mean, it was only one explosion, so it's okay. If it were two or more explosions, then I would be worried. Now please, continue."

A drop of sauce dripped on Max's chin. "Do you have a tissue by any chance? And yeah, so I remember screaming until my dad came in—"

Max was interrupted by Rachel's father rushing inside the main hall. He yelled, "Everything is fine, no need to be afraid!"

Max stood up in shock and stared at Warren. "Did you hear what he just said? He sounded like my dad!"

"What do you mean?" Warren asked as he pulled out a tissue paper and handled it over to Max. "Here."

_Okay, it's just a coincidence. This is not the time for a panic attack._

Max sat down on her chair again and wiped the sauce from her chin. "Thanks. Now listen. The last thing I remember is my dad carrying me outside the house. And then my mom came and picked us up."


	23. Chapter 23

"And that's all?" Warren asked, raising his brow.

"Yes, I don't remember anything after that," Max said. She finished her sandwich first and wiped the crumbs and crusts on her table into a pile. I _'m sure they have someone who's gonna clean that stuff up, right?_

"I get it. And by the way, you're right," Warren said.

"About what?"

Warren grinned. "I'm a huge nerd."

"Oh yeah, sorry. How embarrassing. Wasn't my fault, I didn't mean to call you a nerd. I had a panic attack," Max said.

"Don't worry. And by the way, calling me a nerd is a compliment for me."

Max nodded, smiling. _Wowser, that was easy. I'll just blame everything on a panic attack from now on. I mean it's fair, I do have some mental issues after all. Or at least, that's what my doctor said._

"Oh, crap! Look!" Max said, raising her voice. She pointed at Chloe, who walked down the stairs while looking in Max's direction. "It's Chloe!"

_Chloe's blue hair is so bright, and the tattoo... everything about her screams, I'm dangerous, stay away from me._

Warren looked back at Chloe, who reached the main hall. "Who, Chloe? Yeah, You gotta be careful around her, she's a mad drug user, and she was arrested for vandalism once."

Max's heartbeat rose when Chloe walked straight toward her table with her lips pressed together, and her phone tightly gripped in her hand. "She's coming to us!"

"She can't see us as long as we stay still," Warren said, trying to hide a nervous grin forming on his face. "Don't move."

Chloe did see them and approached Warren from behind in silence. She towered over him and looked down at him with her neck bent like a giraffe. Warren's gaze wandered nervously around as Chloe breathed into his neck. He suddenly stood up and slowly rubbed his hands together. "Alright, um, Max? Wanna head to the yard outside? I gotta show you Brooke's drone, It's so unbelievably fast!"

"No, Warren. I think she'll stay here with me. I need to talk with her, so can you piss off for a moment?" Chloe looked at Warren with a slightly guilty expression. "Please?"

_Chloe already knows Warren's name? It's the first day, and everyone already knows each other so well! Or am I really that anti-social? My life sucks._

Sighing in defeat, Warren said, "I'm hanging with Brooke around the Cupamonga, feel free to join us anytime," and slowly walked away.

"Okay, cap... cappa mango," Max stuttered out as she nodded with her mouth hanging open. "So, Chloe, how can I help you?"

"Listen, Max," Chloe said, looking irritated at the slow walking Warren, "Can you move your fucking ass? Dude, why the fuck are you still here? Are you her boyfriend or something?"

Chloe waited until Warren was out of earshot before saying, "First of all, I hate liars! But I'm gonna make an exception on you because you seem like one of the few girls here who isn't a stuck-up little princess. Well, you're a little weird, I mean the talking to yourself and the back in Seattle thing plus you called our teacher dad..."

Max nodded and then couldn't hide her chuckle when she heard Chloe's stomach rumbling loudly.

"What's so funny? I'm hella hungry! Shit, be right back." Chloe suddenly shot off her chair and walked to the cafeteria counter behind Max. She pounded against the glass in the middle and yelled, "Hey, anyone here? Hello?"

"Shut the fuck up," a manly voice screamed. It was a man with dark circles around his eyes. He walked out of the door behind the counter, which had a round glass panel in the middle. "Look at the clock! You're too late, we're already closed!"

Max gawked at the angry Chloe, who slapped her palm against the window of the counter. "Asshole," Chloe whispered as she walked back to Max's table.

"Don't ever do that shit again, or I'm gonna get Wells on your ass!" the guy behind the counter yelled.

"I could eat a horse right now!" Chloe complained as she rubbed her stomach. "So hungry..."

 _Damned, I gave my last sandwich to Warren,_ Max thought. Her insides felt full and tight. She let out a quiet burp and said, "Sorry, I don't have anything."

"It's not your fault. My soon to be step-asshole didn't let me into the kitchen this morning." Chloe punched the table, causing Max's camera to tip over to its side, creating cling noise. Fearing it might fall to the ground, Max snagged it from the table. _I don't want my baby to get hurt._

"Man, you really do love your camera, don't ya?" Chloe asked.

"Me?" Max asked.

"No, I'm talking to the girl behind you," Chloe said.

Max looked back and saw the worker from before as he removed dried up excess food out of the trays. "To him? But he is a boy, and he is busy cleaning!"

Chloe sighed, rolling her eyes. "Are you high? If not, then you should try some good weed. It might help with whatever the fuck your problem is."

Max wasn't a fan of being drugged or losing control over her body. _I just stopped taking these huge pills my doctor gave me. I really don't wanna mess with drugs again,_ Max thought. She tried to change the subject. "Um, I just saw Rachel's father."

"Yeah, no shit. And I saw your family on the internet, and how they were one of the few survivors of the super-duper-mega storm and blah blah blah." Chloe rubbed her stomach and stared at the crust of Max's sandwich on the table. She then stood up and rushed to the food counter again. "Listen, motherfucker. I still see some rotten noodles in there, just give me a bowl of it and shut your mouth or I will tell David that you made out with Prescock inside the janitor's closet."

"Sorry. School regulations prevent me from serving food to spoiled-ass bitches like you," the annoyed man at the counter said. "And by the way, I'm... not a lesbian like you," the guy stuttered out.

"Now that makes sense. I always suspected that you're a homo," Chloe said. She went back to the table and playfully and gently slapped Max's shoulder. "I'm gonna take a ride to Burger Queen. See ya later."

"You too," Max responded shyly.

Chloe took a step away and froze, turning her head back to Max. "By the way, congrats..."

"For what?"

Chloe gulped before saying, "For you and your whole family surviving the storm." Her voice started to crack a little. "My dad wasn't that lucky."

 _"Uh, thanks,"_ Max said, thinking, _I don't get it. Her dad died or what? What was that all about? Man, this school...,_ She sank in her chair and wished she hadn't forgotten to take her phone, so she could listen to ALT-J right now. _Get high... like Chloe, before you go... whatever._

Max watched Chloe walking to the main exit and then stopping right before the glass door, staring at something through it.

 _What is she looking at?_ Max stood up, thinking, _I need some fresh air. I could follow Chloe outside, or should I go to the yard to Warren?_

With Chloe standing rooted near the entrance and Max not in being the mood to deal with her, Max decided to visit Warren in the yard. _What did he say where he was? Chupacabra?_

As Max passed the entrance, she took a glimpse outside through the glass door. She then saw a very familiar face and stopped, dumbstruck. It was Max's mom, Vanessa, and Chloe seemed to be equally shocked. Vanessa spotted Max and smiled while waving her hands at her daughter like a lunatic.

"Maxine! You forgot your phone!" Vanessa yelled on top of her lungs. "There you are! Come here." Vanessa jogged to Max and hugged her so tight that Max felt like all the air was getting squeezed out of her lungs.

"Oh my god, Mom! Why in front of everyone?" Max complained as her cheeks turned red while struggling to breathe.

Vanessa wailed like a sad puppy. "Oh, c'mon! But you’re still my little daughter! Who cares?"  
  
Max repeatedly tapped her fingers against her mom's hips. "Mom, it's okay, you can let me go of me." However, in reality, Max enjoyed this moment, but it was too embarrassing with all the students around her.

A few seconds later, Vanessa let go of Max and asked, "How was your day so far?"

"Fine, but the teacher was a little strange to me," _okay, let's be fair, I called him dad, so I'm not much better._ "My classmates are nice," _except Victoria, she can go to hell._ "And I even learned something about bacteria," _and that I can travel into alternative reality or back in time._

"Good to hear, my dear." Vanessa pulled out Max's phone out of her purse and offered it to Max. "By the way, here is your phone. You forgot it in your bed."

Max gladly and quickly grabbed it. "Thanks, I felt so lost without it."


	24. Chapter 24

Vanessa stood there in front of Max with a smile. She suddenly pulled her daughter into a hug again and kissed her on her cheeks.

"Mom? Really?" Max asked. The left part of her face was pressed against her moms. She glanced over her mom's shoulder and noticed that Chloe was now outside and staring up at the sky. "Mom? Is there something going on outside?"

"What do you mean?" Vanessa asked. She let go of Max but still held her hands.

"I'm asking because Chloe is staring weirdly in the sky."

"Oh, it started raining. But you don't need to worry about that. Let's sit down at the cafeteria. Have you eat—"

"Mom! I'm going outside!" Max said. Her mom followed her outside.

The sun was still shining bright and hot, and when Max left the building, she felt like she stepped into a light, warm shower. It was cold rain, dripping on her face.

"How is this possible? The sky is clear!" Max asked, noticing that there was not a single cloud in the sky. Her loud voice interrupted Chloe baffled state.

"I don't know, but it's hella strange. I thought I was still tripping at first," Chloe said. She approached Max. "But it's so fucking cool and so refreshing!"

Max pointed at the sky and placed her hand over her forehead to shield her eyes from the glaring sun. "Mom, Look! It's raining, but no clouds!"

"I'm sure there is a scientific explanation for that. Now let's head back inside," Vanessa said.

Max pulled out her phone and searched, rain without clouds, on the internet. She found and read an article on Wikipedia called Sunshower.

"Chloe, I think my mom is right. Maybe the clouds are super far away, and the wind is pushing the rain here," Max said.

"I don't know, and I'd better call Rachel and tell her to get her ass over here," Chloe said, typing something on her phone. "Ah, she's already on her way here. Oh shit, see ya later."

Suddenly, Chloe rushed to the entrance and kicked open the door before disappearing in The Vortex Highschool. She was in a hurry because Rachel and two policemen appeared on the street. As always, Rachel had a smile, as bright as the sun above Max, on her face. She and the officers walked to Max and to her now confused mom.

"Excuse me? We are searching for Chloe Price. Blue hair, white female, around five feet seven inches tall with a rose tattoo covering her whole right arm," one of the police officers said. "She's wanted for hit-and-run, destruction of property, driving without insurance, a helmet, and a valid license. Plus driving an unregistered vehicle."

"Oh boy, how long did it take you to memorize that sentence?" Rachel commented. She then turned her head to Max as a grin formed on her lips. "I bet they're gonna jerk each other off in the police car later."

One of the police officers gritted his teeth and placed his right hand on his gun holster. "Be quiet," he said and then looked at Max. "So, did you see that blue-haired girl or not?"

 _Should I lie or tell the truth?_ Max thought.

"Uh," Max scratched her nose and stared at the officer's feet. "No, I haven't seen Chloe lately."

"Are you sure?" the police officer asked, scratching his chin. "According to the principle, she's still inside the school."

"Yes, I am sure," Max said, trying to deepen her voice to sound more serious.

"Alright." The office looked at Vanessa, who stared at Max. "What about you, mam?"

Rachel looked at Vanessa with her big eyes and a sad smile. She was discreetly shaking her head and moving her lips. Max didn't know how to read lips, but she still knew that Rachel was trying to say, "Please, no!"

"I'm sorry, I was busy with my daughter," Vanessa said, placing her hand on Max's shoulder. "I didn't pay any attention to my surroundings."

Rachel sighed in relief when the two officers walked inside the school without questioning them anymore. Vanessa narrowed her eyes and shook her head.

"I hope you and that blue-haired girl won't get my daughter in trouble," Vanessa said to Rachel. "She's got enough issues of her own. Do you understand?"

"Yes, don't worry. Normally, Chloe is..." Rachel suddenly snorted. "...Chloe is the most well... behaved girl I know."

"Yeah, that's why the police are after her, right?" Vanessa switched her attention to Max. "And you... Your face is a little pale. Have you eaten your lunch yet?"

"Mom! Please, I already ate," Max said, her cheeks turned pink. Rachel giggled.

"Alright, then. I'm gonna drive to the supermarket now. Do you need anything? And what do you want for dinner?" Vanessa asked.

"Mom... I'm not a child! But..." Max took a quick glimpse at Rachel, who stared at her. "But... mac n' cheese sounds good, okay?" she whispered into her mom's ear.

"Alright, honey. Oh, wait." Vanessa pulled out a set of wired earbuds from her purse. "Are these yours?"

"Yes! Thanks!" Max grabbed her earbuds and watched Vanessa walking past the tornado statue and getting into her car.

"Mommy is gone now," Rachel joked, elbowing Max with a smirk on her face.

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

"Okay, then let's get inside. I gotta find and warn Chloe," Rachel said. "Hopefully, David won't get involved in this shit."

"Okay..."

All eyes were on Max, who walked alongside Rachel toward the schoolyard. If Rachel wasn't by her side, Max would've probably put her earbuds in and listen to one of her favorite songs. She noticed how relaxed Rachel walked and felt insecure about her own walking style, so she put her chin up, and pulled out her phone, browsing through her contacts.

_Mom and dad, that's it._

Her phone showed one missed call and three unread messages from her mom.

[11:20 AM - Mom] Hey pumpkin. Is everything alright? Have you eaten your lunch already?  
[11:26 AM - Mom] Max, you there? How is school going so far?"  
[11:27 AM - Mom] [Missed call.]  
[11:28 AM - Mom] I just heard your phone ringing upstairs, you forgot it!

_My mom is as protective as always._

Rachel and Max eventually reached the wooden door to the yard. When Max wanted to push it open, Rachel suddenly said, "Wait a moment, can you... do me a favor? Can you check the yard for Chloe? I'll go downstairs." Rachel pointed in the hallway to the left, which led to a set of stairs going down.

"Um... sure... but... can't you just text her?"

"Better not. She uses this loud as fuck rock song as her ringtone. What if she's hiding in the toilet? David could be right outside her stall!" Rachel said.

"Okay, but would David really go inside the girls' toilet? And who is this David guy?" Max asked. _Damned, I think Warren told me who David is, but I forgot!_

"That's the thing. Chloe might look like a punk ass, but she's still pretty smart. No one would expect her to hide in the boys' t..." Rachel stopped talking for a moment and let her finger wander over her collarbone. "Dude, just check out our secret place, okay? Just walk around the gym building until you see a bench and an ashtray."

"But—"

Rachel interrupted Max and pulled out her phone. "Just go now. And by the way, here is my number..."

Max added Rachel to her contact. "...nine, five. Alright, saved."

_Wowsers, my first non-family contact. And it's from the most beautiful and popular girl in school._


	25. Chapter 25

The cold drizzle cooled down Max's face as she entered the yard. She heard a buzzing sound and looked up. It was a quadcopter, wildly flying around the big hill in the middle of the yard. Max suspected that Brooke was controlling it, because she and Warren were on top of that hill, standing right beside that tall, wooden totem. Brooke held a tablet in her hands and was shifting her body around.

_So, I'm guessing that big totem is that... what did Warren call it? Cup of Congo?_

Warren spotted Max and waved his hand at her. "Max, we are here!" he yelled.

Because a few students were hanging around, Max kept her silence and walked until she reached the front of the hill. "I'm coming in a minute, I gotta do something first," Max said quiet enough so that only Warren and Brooke heard her.

"Sounds good!" Warren said. He pointed at the sky. "Look! So freaky! No clouds, but it's raining! Do you know what's going on?"

Max shrugged her shoulders and then walked to the nearby table tennis tables and leaned her butt on one of them. 

_Alright, time to find Chloe. What did Rachel say? Gym building? I don't even know where that is. I could go up the hill and ask Warren or Brooke, but... uh... no._

As Max looked around, she remembered Rachel and Chloe walking along the building, which was located on the far right of the schoolyard. Max did the same as Chloe and Rachel, she walked along that building and then around the corner until she saw a bench with a dirty, handmade clay ashtray laying on it.

_That's not a great place to smoke cigarettes. Do they not fear getting caught by the teachers?_

The ashtray was overflowing with crushed cigarettes and joint butts. Sadly, due to the rain, most of them were wet, which meant Max couldn't tell if they're were fresh. However, the smell of some kind of weed was in the air. Max followed her nose, which led her to a half-burnt joint lying under the bench. 

_Isn't weed expensive? What a waste!_ Max picked up the joint and noticed that the ash on the tip was still glowing, and that smoke was coming out of it. _That joint smells like peppermint tea. What the frick is going on?_

Not sure where to go next, Max decided to sit down on the bench and stared at the big football field. She listened to the jocks, running around, yelling, and throwing footballs at each other on that field. A few moments later, the rain abruptly stopped. The grass was still wet, and Max spotted three trails of shoeprints, two leading to the bench, one leading away from it toward the edge of the yard.

_Hmm, let's see._

Max stood up and placed her right foot into one of the shoeprints of the first shoeprint trail, which led to the bench. They were at the same size as Max's shoes.

_Oh yeah, that's me! I walked here!_

Max did the same procedure with the second trail and noticed that the shoeprints were longer than her shoes. Now feeling like a detective, she snapped a photo of that second trail and then followed it back to the bench, where she saw shoeprints all over around it. Eventually, Max figured out that the second trail with the bigger shoeprints was that one which led to the edge of the yard.

It was at that moment that Max realized that the schoolyard was surrounded by trees and bushes. _I got that sinking feeling in my stomach again. Like... really? Were the trees always there? I need to pay more attention!_ Max thought. She followed the trail toward the edge until she reached a part that had less dense vegetation. 

_Should I go in or not? I bet there is like a hiding place or something in there. How cool is that? A secret camp? But... what if I find someone dangerous in there, like a drug dealer!_

Max's heartbeat rose as she pushed the twigs and branches away from her face. She couldn't believe what she saw when she stepped into that area. There were pine trees everywhere around her, and it was loud too, animals screaming and shouting at the presence of the freckled girl.

_I'm totally not having a panic attack right now! I'm cool as a cucumber. There wasn't even anything that could've triggered it! I'm sure this place is a part of this school!_

Luckily, the shoeprint trail was still there. However, Max looked back, and all she saw was trees, and she didn't hear the jocks screaming anymore. With seemingly no other options, Max followed the trail and was amazed by all the insects buzzing around her face. Sadly, the smile on her face quickly faded away because most of these insects were actually mosquitos, trying to suck out Max's blood.

"Ouch,"Max whispered as she slapped her face, flattening a mosquito.

The trail of shoeprints led to a dirt path that was surrounded by more and more cracked and bent trees. Max had to crouch under a fallen log that was stuck across it and then spotted a few brown squirrels jumping from branch to branch. She pulled out her camera and snapped a photo of one of it mid-jump.

 _Perfect,_ Max thought, looking at the photo of the squirrel on her camera. 

_When I'm back in school, and this photo is still on my camera, this will mean that this place is real and that I had no panic attack._

The path narrowed, and what looked like thick, long, black cables or ropes were hanging from the trees. They reminded Max of worms, and she imagined that when she gets too close to them, they will tightly wrap around her, like a snake a rat, before pulling her up into the sky and eating her alive.

 _This place is getting creepy as hell. Let's see if my phone has a signal here._ Max pulled out her phone, and it showed one signal bar on the top right. _Hmm, cool. I'm gonna update Rachel.  
_

[Max (you) - 11:47 AM] I haven't found Rachel yet.  
[Max (you) - 11:48 AM] Whoops! I meant Chloe! No trace of her!  
[ERROR - 0x000000FF] There was an error sending your message. Your phone date is inaccurate! Adjust your clock and try again.  
  
 _Something is definitely wrong with this place. Maybe I have internet—_ Max suddenly remembered that her camera also has a clock. It showed 11:48 AM, just like her phone. _The time on my phone is correct, or am I missing something? And I have twelve more minutes until recess ends, so no more playing around. Let's see where the path will lead me._


	26. Chapter 26

Max got a little tired from walking around in the muddy and slippery path, so she sat down on a large wooden log on the side and pulled out her phone. She opened up her web browser and waited until Google loaded. 

_So, I do have internet access here. Does this mean that I didn't travel to this other reality? Am I still in Seattle?_

Before continuing her journey through the forest, Max took a selfie. _I really like looking at my own face,_ she thought, noticing that there were more and more black ropes hanging from the cracked and bent trees. One of these ropes was hanging right in the middle of the path.

_What are these things?_

Max moved closer to that hanging rope and saw silver metal parts sticking out of the end as if someone ripped it in half. When sparkles were coming out of it, Max jumped in shock. 

_Are these electrical wires? Maybe telephone cables?_

Afraid of getting shocked, Max decided to avoid this part of the path. Bruises and scratches formed on her arm as she pushed herself through the rough and spiky bushes and plants. Sadly, when Max was back on the trail, her ankles began to itch, and blisters and rash covered it.

_Great, I stepped into nettles._

The path began to narrow and eventually turned into two, one leading to the right, the other straight ahead. Max followed the shoeprints to the right and reached a dead end. It was a small patch of wet grass with no vegetation and a half-burnt campfire placed in the middle. Max felt the heat on her face as she sat down by that campfire so that she faced the exit to the path. The ash was still glowing under the firewood, and shoeprints were all over this place.

"Hello? Is someone there? I'm kinda lost," Max hollered out, trying to sound friendly and non-hostile. "Please? Anyone?"

There was no response, just the sound of the wind brushing against the pine trees. Max's eyes shifted aimlessly around as she moved her hands over the campfire. Compared to the schoolyard, the air was bitter cold in this place. It didn't help that Max was only wearing a t-shirt. She looked up and tried to find the sky, but all the trees blocked her view.

_If I'm really alone in this place, then I better follow the trail back until I reach the place where I came from. And if that leads me nowhere, I will call my mom. Wait, does my telephone even work here? Let's see._

Max browsed through her contacts and clicked on Rachel's name before pressing the call button. Three beeps, which rose in frequency, then a female voice said, "The number you have dialed is not in service." The same thing happened when Max tried to call her mom and her dad. Another idea that came in Max's mind was to use her compass app on her phone.

_Well, now I know that in front of me is south and behind me is north. This doesn't help me at all. But at least I still have access to the internet here, but how could that help me?_

Max opened her browser once again and navigated to Google, typing, "how do I know where I am" in the search box. When she saw a navigation app in the first search result, she slapped her forehead because she realized that her phone has a built-in GPS chip.

_Damn, how did I forget about GPS? If it works here, then I should have no problem finding back to civilization—_

When Max heard heavy breathing, she put her phone in her pocket and froze in shock. "Hello? I'm lonely, and I don't know where I am!" Max said, trying to sound calm.

Max's cold hands started to shake. She looked to the right and spotted a wasp, which was spastically flying around a purple plant. "Is anyone here?"

Again, there was no response. Max looked to her left, and her heart sunk. She saw a pair of eyes right under what looked like a blue flower. Frozen in shock, Max looked straight ahead at the exit leading to the main path. 

_Someone is hiding in the bush and staring at me, right under that blue flower! Who could that be? An alien? If it jumps out, I will run toward the path and turn left. And I will scream as loud as I can._

Max tried to stay calm and not behave like a threat. "I'm really not hostile. If someone is here, please come out. I will not try to hurt you!" She waited for a response again, but there was nothing but silence. "Umm, okay. I will leave now. I know there is someone here, just show yourself! Last chance!" 

And then, a blue-haired girl emerged from the bushes to Max's left. "Well, this is fucked up, isn't it?" It was Chloe, and she removed leaves and twigs from her hair and stepped in front of Max. "What's up?"

Max sighed in relief. "Thank dog, it's just you," she said with a nervous grin. 

"Dude, I swear to fucking god, I just smoked some fucking tea leaves, and now I am in a forest," Chloe said. "I guess it must be karma."

"Alright, I hope my phone will tell us soon where we are. I'm waiting for Google maps to load, but my internet is damn slow here," Max said, waving her phone in front of Chloe's face, almost hitting her accidentally.

"Your phone is still working? I fucking tried to text Rachel, and then mine went crazy!" Chloe pulled out her phone and pressed the power button. "Look, I can't even access it anymore! It says my pin number is wrong or some shit!"

Max looked at Chloe's phone, which showed a date of October 13th, and a time of 4:39PM. "That sucks," she said.

"Yes, it fucking sucks! I need to find the PUK password number pin shit to access it and to use the internet and my messenger!" Chloe complained.

"My internet works here," Max said. Google maps finished loading, and it showed that Max was still in Seattle, somewhere on the schoolyard. However, a few seconds later, a satellite icon appeared on the top left. Google maps turned white for a moment as it loaded a new area. 

"Chloe, we definitely in a forest," Max said. Her maps app showed that she was now in the middle of a forest. Max accidentally zoomed away very far until she saw the whole American continent. Her location icon was now hovering somewhere on the west coast of Oregon. 

Chloe grabbed a few twigs from the ground and placed them in the campfire. "Yeah, no shit." She pulled out a silver lighter, burning the twigs. "How far are we away?"

"One second," Max zoomed back into her location and showed that she was 5 miles away from Arcadia Bay, right in the middle of a forest. "Umm, Chloe, I think we might have a little problem."


	27. Chapter 27

"Hold on a minute, what is going on?" Chloe snagged the phone out of Max's hand. "Why does it say we're in Arcadia? This can't be right!"

"No idea." Max sat down beside Chloe by the campfire. _Hopefully, this has nothing to do with my _weird_ visions._

Chloe sighed and gave Max her phone back. "So, we just teleported here from Seattle?"

"What else could it be?" Max asked. She opened up Google and typed, "What's the time?"

"I don't know. Maybe the shit Frank sold me killed me, and now I'm in hell or something," Chloe said. She coughed a few times and looked at Max wide-eyed. "Are you even real?"

"I'm definitely real." Max nodded and glanced at her phone. Above the first search result was a clock, which said, time and date in Tillamook County, OR: Tuesday, October 13, 2015, 4:42 PM. "Chloe! It's 2015 here! October thirteen!"

"One two three four five," Chloe whispered as she counted her fingers. "That's four days after the tornado hit! Fuck!"

"What's wrong?" Max asked.

Chloe started to sob and covered her face with her hands. "Even if we just traveled back in time, my dad is already dead! He died in the storm four days ago!"

_Wowsers, is she crying? How do I deal with a crying person?_

Max gently placed her hand on Chloe's shoulder and said, "Sorry, umm. We can leave if this place makes you feel too sad."

"Yeah, we better do." Chloe wiped her watery eyes with the back of her hand. She then stood up and offered Max her hand. "Let's go."

"Thanks," Max said. She and Chloe left the campfire place, turned left, and walked along the path toward where Max came from.

As the two girls got closer two the hanging cable, the sounds of various animals echoed through the forest. Chloe jumped when a pinecone landed on the ground in front of her. "I still can't believe I'm here. Does your GPS still show that we're in Arcadia Bay?" she asked.

Max glanced at her phone once again and looked at her maps app. She zoomed in to her location and but everything was blurry. "All I see is trees, we're middle of a forest, five miles east of Arcadia Bay, and we're walking away from it."

"This whole town should be completely destroyed now. Let's get the hell outta here," Chloe said. She and Max stopped in front of the cable, which hung over the path. "Shit, oh, yeah, that thing again."

"Wait, you already walked this path?" Max asked. _Didn't she say that she smoked tea and then was suddenly in a forest or something?_

"Well, yes, but no. I don't. My mind is kinda clouded right now. Can we leave first and then talk?" Chloe asked. She suddenly grabbed the end of the cable like if it was a snake, and pulled on it.

"What are you doing? Stop!" Max watched the cable falling down, splashing on the mud, and spreading across the path. "Chloe! You better come here!"

"Relax, I got everything under control, except for my weed addiction." Chloe pulled out a small plastic bag out of her pocket. "Wait! I take that back. I'm actually not addicted because if I wanted to, I could stop smoking anytime. But right now I don't want to stop—"

"Chloe! Shut up and come here!" Max screamed when she heard the sound of snapping trees above her. She looked up and saw a metal structure falling to the ground. "It's coming down!"

When enormous chunks of tree debris landed beside her, Chloe ran to Max and watched in awe as the metal structure smashed on the path, collapsing under its own weight. "Well, that was epic."

"I don't wanna sound rude, but can you try not to die?" Max asked, approaching the destroyed metal structure. "It looks like the top part of a power pole."

"I'll try my best. And yeah, nothing survived the great storm of A.B.," Chloe said. She grabbed and pulled on the metal bars, which stuck out from the structure, to check if they're strong enough to hold her weight. "I guess it's time for a little climbing!"

"No, thanks, I go around it!" Max said.

"Again? Um, I mean, look at your hands..." Chloe said.

Max stared at her hands, they hurt and were covered with bloody scratches. She moaned in protest. "I really don't like heights, but okay..."

Chloe climbed on the metal structure with ease and kneeled down on top of it. "Come." She reached her hands out to Max.

Max grabbed and then stepped on one of the bars sticking out before grabbing Chloe's hand. "Lift me up!" With the help of Chloe, she managed to get on top and stood beside Chloe.

"This is the perfect opportunity for a selfie." Max pulled out her camera and snapped a photo of her face. "Wowsers, my lips are kinda blue!"

"Yeah, let's jump down before you freeze to death." Chloe leaped forward and landed on her feet without a problem. "Your turn now!"

"I'm pretty high up here, aren't I?" The wind pressed against Max's body, causing her to feel kinda dizzy. "What if I break my legs? Can you catch me, please?"

"Me? Catching you? Are you out of your mind? Are you high or what?" Chloe asked, shaking her head and resting her feet on the metal structure. "Just jump down and stop being a pussy. You're pretty light anyway, probably skinnier than Rachel."

"Yes, I'm very high up in the air. Now please... the metal is freezing cold!" Max bowed her head down and made a sad grimace. "Just... just catch me."

"How about this, do you see that metal bar sticking out under you?" Chloe asked, reaching out her hands to Max. "Sit on the edge, step on that bar, and then grab my hands."

 _I kinda like Chloe now,_ Max realized. She followed Chloe's instructions and sat down before stepping on the metal bar. She then grabbed Chloe's hand and was a little confused. "Now what?"

"You're not that high now, just jump! God damned you little... uh, freckled girl!" 

_But she needs to stop making fun of my freckles,_ Max thought. "I'll do as you say! Are you ready?"

"For what? Oh, no! Max no—"

The muddy path was cold, just like Chloe's face expression. Max jumped straight into her and caused her to fall with her back on the ground. "Chloe? Are you okay?"

"I can't fucking believe you've done this!" Chloe shot off the ground and wiped the mud away from her face. "Max, look at me! Why?"

Max shrugged. "I can give you my shirt if you want."

"Yeah, sure. You just want to see me naked. Now follow me."


	28. Chapter 28

Droplets of water dripped from the leaves on the slippery, muddy path as the rain began to settle. Max stayed close to Chloe and stared at her mud-covered back. "So, we're going back now? Do you know a way out?" she asked.

"I think so... hella crazy, isn't it?" Chloe pushed a spiky branch that was sticking from the side of the path away from her face. "We aren't far away from Arcadia Bay; five days earlier, and I could've had a chance to save my dad."

"Sorry, but yeah. It's super weird. I'm still not sure how I found this place. Like, you know your weed smoking spot? The bench? I followed your footprints from there! That's how I got here!" Max let out a short, pained scream when she stepped on a sharp stone, which pierced through her shoelace. "Ouch! Damned, I need to remove my shoe!"

"My shoe—" Chloe approached the pained Max and chuckled when Max took off her right shoe from her foot, revealing a pink, heart-covered sock. "What happened? Are you hurt?"

Max removed her sock and inspected the bare sole of her tiny right foot. "Oh my god! I'm bleeding!" She pointed at her sole, which had a little red dot on the heel with only a single drop of blood coming out. "I can't continue."

"Are you kidding me? Do you want me to kiss your feet? Fucking baby!" Chloe yelled. She approached Max and gently slapped her toe. "Stop being such a wimp and follow me."

Narrowing her eyes, Max put her sock and shoe on her feet and then winced in pain when she stepped on the ground. "It's so wet and smelly here, but it's a good place to camp."

"Or to hide from the auth... from the cops. We should bring some marshmallows next time." Chloe added. She suddenly stopped, and Max bumped right into her back. "Listen, Maxine. I think we should keep this place between Rachel and us two only, at least for now. It's like our secret gang hideout, right?"

Max nodded. "Sure, so I'm a part of your gang now?"

"Yeah, whatever." Chloe stopped moving when they reached the end of the path. They stared at the footprints, which let into a large bush to the right. "Alright, I think I know how to leave this place. Just follow me closely and don't ever stop."

 _Yay! Chloe is my friend! I kinda like her now. Hopefully, she isn't just playing with me,_ Max thought. She nodded once again and stepped into Chloe's footsteps. She breathed hard, and more bruises formed on her arms as she pushed through the bushes and shrubs. It was getting warmer too; Max's chest felt heavy as if the vegetation around her is squeezing her to death. Then, the shiny summer sun of Seattle blinded Max. She felt light-headed, but everything was okay because she was back in the schoolyard of the Vortex.

"Ta-da!" Chloe proudly said. However, she quickly changed her tone when she saw a girl and a boy with a big camera resting on his shoulder. "Stay low. I don't think they saw us."

The girl was Max's classmate, Dana, and she did spot Chloe and Max. "Hey! Look! Whoa! Where did they come from? Did you get that on camera?" Dana asked. She and the camera boy approached them. 

Trying to look intimidating, Chloe cracked her knuckles. "Hey, yo! Did I give you my permission to film me?" Chloe approached the camera boy and pushed him back, causing him to stumble backward. She grabbed the camera mid-air and asked, "Alright, where is the memory card?"

The boy was lying speechless on the ground while Dana yelled, "Give me that back! You wannabe gangster! This is my property!" She then tightly grabbed Chloe's left wrist. "Or I'm gonna check out your little hiding place." She pointed at the bushes behind Chloe.

Chloe glanced over at Max and gave Juliet her camera back. "Alright, just shut up, okay?"

"What? Did I just break the mighty Chloe Price? You must be hiding some super interesting shit in the bushes!" Juliet switched her focus to Max. "And you? Why are you hanging around with the drug-queen, new girl? And... whoa? What happened? Are you hurt?"

Max noticed that Juliet's eyes scanned her body, particularly her bruise-covered arms. "Um, nothing!" She crossed her arms behind her back in shame. "Just hanging around with... uh... Cleo, uh, I mean, Chloe!"

Juliet pressed her lips together and glanced at Chloe. "Okay... what did you do with her?" she asked, elongating her words.

Chloe started to sweat nervously. "Nothing, I just showed Max my hiding place, just in case, you know?"

Juliet turned her face to Max. "Is that true?"

_What should I say? ... I better not tell her that we might've traveled back in time. She will think that we're out of our minds!_

"Chloe is telling the truth," Max said. She heard Brooke's drone, buzzing in the distance flying toward her. That was not the only thing coming for Max, Victoria and her two friends entered the schoolyard heading into her direction.

_This whole place is making me feel so stressed. I need a big timeout. Do they have showers here?_

"I'm gonna head back to class, see ya there," Max said. Her right foot still hurt; she began to limp toward the exit, passing Victoria. Chloe quickly caught up with Max and whispered, "Let's keep that between us two only, okay."

Max nodded. "Don't worry." She saw Chloe and Victoria exchanging mean glances, and then Victoria yelled, "Max, wait a moment."

"What did they say? Just ignore the bullies?" Max whispered to herself. She wished someone would shoot down the loud drone that hovered above her head.

"Hey! Where are you going—" Victoria yelled at Max but then was interrupted by her friend yelling, "Vic, let's deal with her later. We gotta talk with Dana first; the party is more important."

Max stopped paying attention to her surroundings; however, she couldn't ignore the loud sound of a thunderclap, which caused the earth to tremble. A thunderbolt vaporized Brooke's drone, and pieces of molten plastic began to fall to the ground.

_I guess god listened to my prayers._


	29. Chapter 29

Brooke gritted her teeth as her drone turned into a mix of molten plastic and metal before splashing on the ground. Victoria and her posse started to argue with Chloe and Juliet. This is why Max increased her pace and jogged out of the schoolyard. Entering the main building, she filtered through a wave of curious students who rushed past her trying to see what happened outside. Passing the cafeteria, Max stopped there because she noticed that it looked like the chairs and tables were replaced by cheap-looking garden stools and tables.

_Shit, were they always there? I don't remember._

Max had an idea. She placed her digital camera on a nearby table and put on a timer of 15 seconds. Then, she lifted a chair in the air using only her pinky finger. Eventually, her camera snapped the photo. It was at that moment she saw principle Wells leaving his office.

_What's his problem? He looks pissed-off and sad at the same time._

The principle glared at Max, which kinda spooked her, so she grabbed her camera and headed into the bathroom where she splashed some water on her face. After that, she looked at the photo; it showed that she was holding up a wooden chair in the air, all the weight was resting on her pinky finger.

_This is getting stranger every minute. So, the chairs got replaced only for me? How does this even work? I wonder, should I tell my mom about this? She's always supportive of my problems. But this, what if she thinks that some kinda mutant freak like in the superhero movies?_

When the bell rang, Max walked back inside her classroom. A dozen students were already there. Warren was standing by the window; he was recording something outside using his cellphone. Victoria and Brooke weren't here yet, so Max approached the window beside Warren and looked outside. She saw a small, black orb, which floated above the grass near the tornado statue. The area around it looked distorted, like a black hole in space bending light around it. Leaves and grass orbited it, like satellites the earth.

_Holy crap, what's going on now?_

Being a photographer by heart, Max instinctively reached for her camera and recorded a 22-second video of it. Warren noticed Max and walked to her. "Yo, Max, are you seeing this? It's like a super-miniature tornado!"

"I know. Look at the blades of grass; they are circling around that round thing in the center!" Max said.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Warrens said, scratching his chin. He looked behind him when he heard someone entering the classroom. It was Brooke; her eyes looked red from crying. "Brooke, you need to see this, come here!"

"I'm not in the mood. My drone turned into a pile of mush!" Brooke said. She looked out of the window and scratched her head. "What do you mean? There is nothing there!"

"Oh, no, you're right, it's gone!" Warren said to Max confusion. 

Max looked out of the window and saw that the orb was still there, seemingly frozen in place. However, there was less grass and distortion around it.

 _I still see the round thing. Let me check the video._ The orb was not visible on Max's camera, which confirmed her own theory that it is only visible under the naked eye for her. _All right, I'm gonna play it cool._

Brooke gave Max an icy glare while she complained about shit, so Max decided to leave them alone and sit on her desk, where Kate was reading her bible. Victoria and her loud friends joined the classroom too. Max heard Victoria saying, "Dude, she is so fat, why is she wearing stripes?" Then, her minions laughed like maniacs. Behind her walked Alyssa, who looked like a serial killer ready to dismember Victoria. 

The teacher was late again, which made Max wonder. _Kinda unprofessional, I mean, he looks like a veteran here at this school. Maybe he is busy searching for Chloe? Where is she anyway?_

Eventually, the teacher came, behind him, Rachel, walking calm and collected as always. He walked to his desk, the ground shook as he dropped his on the ground. "Has anyone seen Chloe Price? She's missing since recess," the teacher asked.

No one raised an arm, so the teacher started his lecture, which consisted of science. He was sweating pinball the whole time when he talked about space, how big it might be, and that the speed of light is limited.

_What's wrong with him? He looks like he's shaking in excitement when he talks about space and time!_

Suddenly, the sound of screeching tires interrupted class. It came from outside; students rushed to the windows, and everyone saw black SUV's approaching at high speed. All of them had trailers attached at their rear. They carried fences and huge metal boxes with no logos and nothing written on them.

"Everyone, please stay on your seat and stay put. I'll be back in two seconds," the teacher said, trotting out of the classroom.

Max watched as human figures left their SUV's and began to unload their trailers. They all wore black balaclavas to mask their faces.

"This is bad; it's like in the movies," Alyssa said, placing her hands on her belly. "They will shoot us!"

"Maybe... I think it's because of the lightning, or the mini-tornado, or the cloudless rain," Warren said, slowly nodding. "Max! We should stick together!"

"Maybe the government is doing a secret social experiment with us, and something went wrong!" Brooke suggested. "I'm telling you, we're fucking lab rats!"

These words coming from Warren and his friends really frightened Max. _With all the things that happened to me today, I think they might be right!"_

"Calm the fuck down, fatty," Victoria scoffed to the frightened purple-haired girl. "Hello? Anyone got a chocolate bar for that lardass to nibble on?"

"Don't call her that! She isn't even that chunky!" Rachel joined Max and Warren. 

"You should stay out of my business." Victoria approached Rachel and grabbed her sleeve. "I think a prison jumpsuit would really suit you. And I heard Nutraloaf is very rich in flavor. Plus, you can get fucked in the ass all day. If you want it or not."

"You wish Courtney would fuck you all day, I saw you in the toilet with her. I got it on camera too," Rachel responded.

"Wow, so... you know how old I am? Fifteen, that's means you got underage porn on your device!"

Rachel gulped. "Well, I mean... then, I'm gonna share the video with the whole town. I'm going to prison anyway. I can handle a few years behind bars, but you, you are a Chase. Your parents will disown you for being a slut. Your reputation will be ruined forever!"

Victoria raised her arms defensively. "Okay, okay. Jeez. Rachel, you're such a fucking hot head today. Let's talk about this. No need to escalate—"

Suddenly, the teacher rushed into the classroom. "Alright, due to special circumstances, school is canceled for the rest of the day. Don't ask why, just pack up your stuff quietly, and then walk downstairs in an orderly fashion."

Rachel and Victoria went quiet, the jocks high fived each other, Warren sighed in defeat and said, "No way! I love science and space! Can we at least get some homework?"

Everyone started booing Warren. "Hey, fucking nerd!" One of the jocks wasn't amused. He approached Warren and grabbed his collar. "We totally forgot about your diving session. But don't worry; we'll catch up after class."

"You two, stop threatening each other. I don't want to see any violence in my school," the teacher intervened. 

"You'll get your punishment later, Gay-boy," the jock whispered into Warren's ear. 


	30. Chapter 30

It was surreal; students left their classrooms and flooded the corridors. It looked like a scene in a prison movie; everyone walked in a straight line, even the teachers. The heat and smell was getting unbearable, and it took Max five minutes until she reached the exit. The unidentified men were placing their equipment on the sidewalk. Worried and confused parents parked their cars everywhere, causing a long traffic jam. It looked like the aftermath of a school shooting.

 _I'm going to cycle home, take a nap, and look at my photos. This is too much for me,_ Max thought. Outside on the yard, she sat down on one of the benches, which surrounded the tornado statue and texted her mom.

[Max] mom? Are you at home?  
[Max] They closed down the school, no idea why.  
[Max] I'm coming home!  
[Max] This place sucks. :(

Max didn't want to look like a loser on her cheap bicycle, so she decided to wait until the place was less crowded. _Why does no one want to sit here with me? Maybe it's because I'm ugly and no one wants to be caught—_

Suddenly, someone screamed, "Burger time!" It was Brooke, and her loud voice made Max stand up in surprise, also causing Warren to spot Max. He approached Max and asked, "What's up? Brooke and I are heading to Burger Queen. Wanna join us?"

"Uh, I'm not sure. I'm here on my bicycle. I mean... maybe later?" Max started to stutter when she spotted Brooke behind Warren crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes. "Um, so, I see, you successfully evaded the bullies?"

"Yeah, I'm safe for now. Years of experience with these bullies helped me acquiring this power! You can call me the dodge master!" Warren said.

"Uh, that's great," Max said, sitting down.

"Alright then, Maxter, see ya at the Burger Queen. By the way, try not to get run over by these crazy drivers," Warren warned.

"Thanks for the warning."

Warren and Brook left, and when the crowd dispersed, the orb was visible on the patch of grass beside the footpath. It looked unnaturally black, almost like a two-dimensional sprite in a video game. She decided to ignore it for now, because two masked men were coming from the main street, and they walked toward the main door. They didn't notice the orb, just like everyone else.

_Time to leave, I mean, who knows what is going on here. Maybe some crazy scientists did an experiment, which got horribly wrong._

Max grabbed her bicycle and tried to push it toward the street, but it wouldn't move and made a clunking noise. It was a chain wrapped around the frame of her bicycle and the armrest of the bench. A yellow tag was attached to a padlock, which held everything together. "You illegally parked your vehicle on private property. If you are the owner of this vehicle, head to the security office immediately to pay your fine – David Madsen," that was the message written on it.

_This day can't get any worse, like what the hell. Everyone hates me, and they are overreacting-_

The sound of her phone ringing interrupted Max's mini outburst.

[Mom] Huh, that's surprising. Why would they shut down the school?  
[Mom] I'm still at work, by the way. Get yourself something from the fridge if you're hungry.  
[Mom] Drive carefully and don't speed, please.  
[Max] okay.

Ripping off the tag, Max headed back to the main building of The Vortex High School. Sadly, the masked man guarded the entrance like the royal guard protecting the Buckingham palace.

"Um, excuse me? Can I go in? I need help with my bike," Max asked.

The masked man to the right shook his head in silence.

"Why not?" Max showed him the tag. "It says I have to go to the office. It's inside, right? Where is it? Can you tell me?"

They didn't respond, and Max noticed that both were wearing glasses; the frame outline was visible on the balaclavas and the lenses through the eye slits.

"Why aren't you saying anything? Can you help me with this?" Max asked again. She backed off when the man cracked his fingers aggressively before crossing his arms.

_What is wrong with these two? Why don't they talk with me?_

Sighing in defeat, Max noticed that the traffic was still a little backed up, but the students were gone. The orb was still floating on the patch of grass beside the footpath. 

_It's so black like a... void? It's weird... when I stare at it, I f- feel attracted to it. I think I'm gonna touch it. Hopefully, I won't die a horrible death._

As Max approached the orb, the distortion intensified, and the center slowly changed its color into from black to various shades of green and white. For a brief moment, Max saw herself from behind, standing on the grass beside a white looking structure. A freezing gust of wind blew into her face. Another step forward and the whole location changed.

_Wowser, I'm back in the forest! Did I just enter this place through a wormhole?_

To Max's right was a white tent, to the left, a metal fence with barbed wire on top of it, which led to a gate to the right. The smell of wet grass and the colder temperature made Max smile. _This_ _is much better than the summer heat in Seattle. Let's check out this place. I might figure out a way to unlock the bicycle._

Max began to walk toward the gate. She noticed that the barbed fence beside it surrounded the whole location. It was as big as a football stadium. There were muddy tire marks all over this place; they all led to the gate. Suddenly, Max heard a few bangs, it sounded like a blacksmith hammering a sword on an anvil. It came from behind the only tent in this place.

_I gotta stay alert, I don't even know where I am and what kind of souls are out there. But the pine trees, the shit weather, it smells like Arcadia Bay._

Max walked away from the gate and followed the noise until she saw two dark figures behind the tent. One of them was unloading steel frames and rolls of polyester fabric from a nearby truck. He hauled these materials on a wheelbarrow toward a small construction zone.

The other person was inside the construction zone, standing on top of a ladder. He used a power screwdriver to screw the corner of a foundation together.

_Hmm, they're assembling these tents. I think I was already here. But last time, tents were everywhere. So, I'm actually traveling back in time! These can't be panic attacks, what if I'm actually not ill?_


	31. Chapter 31

Max dug through her pockets, trying to find her phone to check what time and date it is when she noticed a bolt cutter leaning against a red barrel. _This is perfect. I'm just gonna cut the chain off!_ Sadly, the barrel was inside the construction zone, right in front of the guy on the ladder. However, it looked like the wooden box beside it could be used as cover.

Moving slowly like a cat stalking a rabbit, Max avoided stepping on dry leaves and snapping any twigs. She hid behind the wooden box; the bolt cutter was now almost within arm's reach. Suddenly, the person on the ladder asked, "Yo, Jonny, I need your help. Can you hold the frame still and straight?"

"Rodger, sir," the other person responded with a little sarcasm in his voice. He dropped his load beside the ladder and then moved the empty wheelbarrow back to the truck. When he suddenly walked in Max's direction, Max ducked down and accidentally hit her chin on the sharp edge of the box.

Max screamed internally, thinking, _Ouch!_ _Shit, another damn scar on my face... seriously, I need to stop being so clumsy, or I'm gonna look like a Vietnam war veteran soon._

Luckily, the man didn't spot Max as he grabbed the spirit leveler, which laid on top of the box where Max hid. He then climbed on the ladder to help his fellow coworker.

"Stop wobbling so much. You're gonna fall down and break your damn neck. Did you already forget about Bob?"

"Yeah, sure... Poor guy, he needs a caretaker to wipe his ass for the rest of his life."

"At least he's alive."

"Nah, such a life isn't worth living. I'd rather be dead."

The two workers were very busy on top of the ladder, so Max took her chance and sneaked toward the barrel. Grabbing the bolt cutter, she could swear that a small, foreign body flew inside her left nostril. The ticklish feeling in her nose made her eyes water. And then, she sneezed so loud that it scared off a pair of nearby crows. 

_Okay, stay still, remember Jurassic Park._

Max froze like a deer in headlights; she hoped that the two guys lacked any motion perception. One guy climbed down and asked, "Did you hear that?"

"Hmm, must've been the wind..." the other guy on top of the ladder suddenly pointed at Max and dropped his screwdriver. "No, no! Look! An intruder is here! Remember what our boss said!"

Max's heart raced. _Oh, no, shit-shit-shit! They saw me!_

The two guys were running fast, but Max had a few meters head start. She dropped the heavy bolt cutter and ran around the tent until she saw the black orb before jumping straight into it. Seeing herself doing a somersault forward, the next thing Max knew is that she was back on the main yard at The Vortex High school, lying on the grass. For some reason, the two masked men at the entrance didn't pay any attention to her.

 _What an epic fail. At least, I managed to escape._ Feeling destroyed, Max kicked her front tire. _I don't like this reality anymore. I wanna go back to Arcadia Bay when I was young and happy._ Max pulled out her digital camera. _This is now my old polaroid camera._ And then she sat down on the bench and stared at the tornado statue. _I'm sitting in my old room, and the tornado statue is the storm that destroyed my hometown._

Max took a deep breath and blinked; the sudden change in temperature gave her goosebumps. She was back in her old room, sitting by her desk; she held her digital camera in her hands, which gave her an idea.

 _Yay, it worked! I even transferred my camera into this realm or whatever. What would happen if I bring my bike in here?_ _Alright, I'm gonna blink, and then I will see the statue in Seattle again._

Max blinked, and then was back at The Vortex. The two masked men were now talking to principle Wells, so Max repeated the steps from before. This time, however, she grabbed the steering bar of her bicycle with both hands.

_I can do this! Like my mom said, You have to believe in yourself!_

Another blink and Max was back in her old room again. It worked; however, her bike was now locked to her desk. But that was not a problem because the chain was wrapped around the table leg. Max simply placed her bicycle on the ground and then lifted the table a little, before shoving the chain away from under the table leg using her feet. Sadly, the chain was still locked around the frame of her bicycle.

_Alright, now I have to get rid of the chain. I can't cycle around like this. It's too heavy and makes an annoying noise. Plus, I can get in trouble for stealing it._

Thinking about what to do next, Max wondered if her parents are at home. The door wouldn't open, so she placed her ear against the door and eavesdropped. The only thing she heard was a faint, static noise. Her phone had no reception and lacked an internet connection. The lack of a GPS signal gave this whole place an eerie and isolated feeling.

_Do I have a superpower? But this isn't a video game or a TV show. Let's travel back to Seattle._

Grabbing her bike, Max visualized the tornado statue and then blinked. It worked again; she managed to travel back to Seattle. Also, her bike was no longer attached to the bench, but still, the chain was wrapped around the frame. The chain clunked loudly against the metal as she pushed her bicycle toward the sidewalk until she was out of sight from the two men at the entrance.

_Now what? I could go inside the wormhole again to get the bolt cutter. Should I do it?_

After contemplating with herself for a moment, Max decided to peek inside the wormhole.The was no trace of the two construction workers, so she tiptoed along the tent, then around the corner until she saw them again at the construction zone. It was almost the exact same scene from before, one guy on top of a ladder, however, the other guy was inside the truck, unloading construction materials into a wheelbarrow. The bolt cutter was leaning against the barrel, just like before.

_This doesn't make any sense. Did these two guys forget about me?_

Everything went smoothly. Max held her nose closed as she grabbed the bolt cutter and then quietly walked back through the wormhole. The chain was thick as fuck, but the bolt cutter had long handles, giving her enough leverage to snap it in half. However, Max felt her stomach twisting inside her thinking about how she stole the tool. This is why she carefully went back through the wormhole and placed the bolt cutter on top of the wooden box beside the spirit leveler.

_I'm missing something... but whatever, at least, I can leave this place now. All this running around – I bet I burned a shit-ton of calories... so hungry... It's time for a burger, or maybe some Belgium Waffles? What did Chloe call it? Burger K- Queen?_


	32. Chapter 32

With school canceled early, and not much homework to do, Max decided to accept Warren's invitation and to visit that fast food joint called "Burger Queen." Max assumed that her mom had no problems with eating out at that restaurant, but still decided to inform her about her whereabouts.

[Max] I'm heading to Burger Queen before coming home :)

 _Burger Queen...,_ Max thought, giggling. _That definitely sounds like some kind of fast food joint._

While waiting for a response from her mom, Max searched for Burger Queen on her navigation app. It turned out, this place was located just a few blocks north, so Max put her earbuds in her ear and listened to American Girlfriend. It was midday, and unlike this morning, there was now extreme heat in the air. The wind felt like a superhot hairdryer blowing into her face as Max straddled toward the restaurant. 

_It's always red, god damned! They definitely designed this place for cars,_ Max thought when she saw the red light at the next intersection. She slowed down and then heard something that sounded like rapid, wet farts. It was Chloe and Rachel, rapidly approaching from behind on their sad excuse for a motorbike.

_I wonder where they're heading. I remember Chloe was super hungry when I talked with her during lunch. I should've given her my sandwich instead of Warren.  
_

The light turned green, so Max continued her journey. She heard the sound of Chloe's moped behind her at constant volume. When she got closer to another intersection, which was a four-way stop, they suddenly sped up and overtook Max. To Max surprise, Chloe actually obeyed the traffic rules and stopped at the stop sign.

"Sup, Maxter?" Chloe asked when Max stopped to her right.

Max shifted her gear to the lowest. "Nothing, I'm going to try out this burger restaurant you mentioned."

"Sounds cool, we'll meet each other there. My mom cooks the best burgers!" Chloe said, watching left and right as the intersection slowly cleared.

"Wait, so... is your mom the burger queen, or is that the name of the place?" Max asked, noticing that the intersection was now clear.

_I'm talking bullshit again, what is wrong with me?_

Rachel slapped her tight and laughed. "Oh boy, I like her, she got that subtle humor!"

"Hey, don't get all horny for her! You're mine now, forever!" Chloe joined the laughter.

"How right you are, Miss Price!" Rachel cheered. 

Accelerating across the empty intersection, Chloe did a wheelie with Rachel sitting at the back. It sounded like something was grinding against the asphalt of the street. Additionally, sparkles were flying all over the place; they were coming from Chloe's exhaust, which was dangling under the backseat. Eventually, Chloe took notice of her broken exhaust and slowed down.

_How is that thing even moving one inch? It belongs to the junkyard. But still, it looks fun to ride around... until you die because the front wheel fell off.  
_

As Max got closer to her destination, a flashy sign was visible on the horizon. It was a busty woman with a crown on her head, holding quadruple cheeseburger between her hands and biting it. Max felt still a little bloated from eating her mom's turkey sandwich, but the sign made her mouth water, and it can't hurt to check out new places and to socialize.

_I never even knew that this chain existed. Well, this is what happens when it is when you stay in your room all day every day._

It sounded like someone dropped a lot of cymbals, the exhaust from Chloe's moped fell off and slid across the street. Chloe drove on the sidewalk and stopped there. The truck driver behind didn't even bother to brake; he drove straight over it, flattening the exhaust like a tin can. The ground shook as the hot exhaust caused the massive front tire of the truck to explode.

Max cycled across the intersection, thinking, _Ouch! My ears are ringing! Let's see if I can offer them some help.  
_

"Is everything okay! Do you need help?" Max asked, stopping on the right side of the road beside the sidewalk.

They didn't. Chloe revved the engine; it was now much louder without the exhaust. Max's chest vibrated; it felt like her intestines were turning into a liquified mess, and like someone stabbed her eardrums.

"Chloe! Stop it, you're scaring her!" Rachel warned, slapping Chloe's bare ass cheek from behind.

"Ay ay, captain!" Chloe yelled.

Max sighed. "Alright, then. By the way, do you know what happened at the school today?"

"No idea, it might be because of the time travel thing on the yard." Rachel said, staring at Chloe's blue hair from behind. "Thanks for finding Chloe, she was scared as fuck!"

"Hey, that's not true! I'm never afraid of anything! And let's be fair, I just fucking traveled back in time, okay?"

Rachel sighed when she saw Max narrowing her eyes. "Chlo... let's stop fucking around with her and tell her everything. She's different; I saw her filming it, she was so fascinated, she saw the orb!"

Chloe rolled her eyes, turned off her moped, and glanced over at Max. "Alright, Maxine. Let's talk at Burger Queen, about time—"

Suddenly, someone honked from behind. It was an old guy in a hatchback, he couldn't move past, the left lane was blocked because of the truck with the flat tire, the right one was occupied by Max. Chloe showed him the finger as Max moved out of the way toward the sidewalk.

"You should oil it; can you even reach ten miles per hour?" Chloe asked, touching Max's rusty bicycle chain.

Max shrugged. "It's squeaky, but it does its job."

The old, angry driver shouted obscenities as he passed the three girls. "I swear to god, kids these days. When I was young—"

Rachel interrupted him, yelling, "Okay, boomer, we get it. Now go back to ruining the planet," before turning her attention to Max. "I think Chloe is right, you need some extra horsepower."

"What do you mean?"

Rachel suddenly balled her left hand into a fist and stretched her arm out toward Max.

_Huh? Does she want to do a fist bump with me? Okay, I can do that._

It was hella awkward when Max bumped her fist into Rachel's. Also, it was a trap. Rachel grabbed Max's wrist and held it tightly.

Now smirking, Chloe turned on the engine and gave Rachel a kiss on her lips. "Ready?"

"W- what are you doing?" Max asked.

Chloe hit the gas and jumped over the curb straight into the street. Something cracked, probably the worn-out suspensions of her moped. Max clung on the handlebar with her left hand, the other one was being held tightly by Rachel. They pulled Max like a trailer.

"Twenty-five," Chloe yelled.

"Slow down, please!" Max yelled back as her whole bike started to wobble. She hoped not to turn into roadkill.

"Twenty-nine," Chloe yelled a little louder as she increased her speed with Max.

"No! I'm gonna fall, stop!" Max screamed. She was now almost deaf due to the strong headwind. It felt like being on a rollercoaster.

Chloe suddenly let go of the steering bar and started to clap and cheer. "Max, I think you're now ready for the Tour de France!"

"Alright! Enough, I can't breathe!" Max pleaded, her lungs felt like they're burst.

When a huge, red building made out of bricks appeared under the Burger Queen neon sign, Rachel let go of Max. The big, red letters, which hung above the entrance, were already visible in the distance. The letters were taller than Max and said, "Welcome to Burger Queen!"

Chloe and Rachel drove off toward Burger Queen, yelling, "We'll wait there, hurry up, okay!"

Max swallowed to unclog her ears and then pulled into the parking lot. She parked her bike at the racks near the entrance beside a small playground, were kids were playfully yelling and sliding down a tube slide. A few curious kids stared at Chloe's moped, which was carelessly laying on the ground near the racks.

 _Man, this place must be hugely popular...,_ Max thought. The long queue, which stretched from the counter to the main entrance, suggested that Max was right. She pushed open the door, thinking, _here goes nothing._


	33. Chapter 33

The smell of fatty food filled the eatery, which was at max capacity. Bacon sizzled in the pans, and the workers salted the fries in the fryers. Like a good girl, Max stood obediently at the end of the queue, which mostly consisted of kids her age.

_They probably roast me in their head right now, just like the meat on the grill behind the counter._

The location lacked any air conditioner, so Max opened the door behind her and held it open to let some air in. However, Rachel, who was near the counter, noticed that; she probably thought that Max wanted to fuck off already.

"Max, where are you going? Come here!" Rachel yelled, waving to Max. Chloe, who was now wearing a grey beanie on her head, crossed her legs and hugged Rachel lightly from behind.

_Oh, yeah, I forgot. The police still search for you. Smart move, now you just gotta hide that damn big tattoo on your arm..._

Feeling even hotter now, Max pretended that she didn't hear her, but she could see Rachel approaching her in the corner of her eyes.

"Maxine! Are you hard of hearing or something? I called you ten times!" Rachel grabbed Max under the arm, which Max thought was very rude.

"I don't think so," Max responded.

"Listen, I know you got some issues or whatever, but this... time t..." Rachel stopped talking and noticed that the whole queue was silently staring at her. "Listen, there is some ominous shit going on, it's super important! Just order some food and don't raise any suspicion!"

"Ok—" Max cringed inside when Rachel suddenly pulled her toward the counter, effectively skipping the whole queue. They gave Max an icy glare but beamed a smile at Rachel, which made Max wonder if Rachel is some kind of untouchable entity.

Arriving at the counter, a friendly, blonde, middle-aged woman greeted Max. Her apron was drenched in grease; it looked like she had a rough day so far.

Standing in front of the only active cash register, Max tapped her chest. "Uh, is it my turn to order?"

The woman gave Max a single nod and widened her eyes. "That's correct, young lady."

Max blushed, her mind went all fuzzy. "Um, do you serve burgers here?"

Chloe and Rachel giggled, the woman pointed at the LCD screen behind the counter on top of a shelf, which showed an ad for a two-dollar double-chili cheeseburger. "We do, all kinds of."

"Just gimme a cheeseburger and a small portion of fries, please," Max ordered. She then remembered to order a drink, but sadly, Chloe already pushed her aside.

"Mom! Listen, I want a triple-bypass—" Chloe ordered but was quickly interrupted by the woman.

_Whoa, that server is Chloe's mom!_

"First of all, are you paying, or are you just here for your free meal a day?" Chloe's mom asked.

"C'mon, mom, just stop asking me stupid questions and just feed me already," Chloe joked. "You owe me some pocket money anyway, and I'm too young for a job. So, one way or another, you're going to pay, understood?"

Chloe's mom seemed to be at loss of words, she noted down Chloe's order with a frown on her face. "Alright, but keep in mind that we are on a skeleton crew today. Some kind of nasty virus is going around, almost everyone called in sick, so the food will take a lot longer to be prepared."

"Really, that's annoying!" Rachel cut in, raising her voice and impatiently playing with her phone.

"Calm the fuck down. School is canceled, you know?" Chloe said to Rachel.

"Yeah, but I'm so hungry!" Rachel said in a louder voice.

"What? I can't hear you! You are what, hungry?" Chloe cupped her hand behind her ear.

"Yes, I'm so fucking hungry!" Rachel screamed on top of her lungs and then laughed.

 _Why are they screaming at each other and laughing? Is this some kind of new trend or meme? Or are they just playing around_?

Chloe stepped aside so that the other people can order. When Brooke and Warren appeared from behind, Max wondered, _did this whole school decided to go to Burger Queen?_

Warren gave Max a warm smile. Chloe waited while Brooke ordered her meal and Warren's. After Brooke was done, Chloe pounded against the counter. "Mom! We forgot the cups too! I'm hella thirsty!"

 _Oh, her name is Joyce,_ Max realized when she saw the ID card hanging on the servers chest.

"Please lower your voice and step aside, you're holding up the line," Joyce said to Chloe. "I suggest taking a seat, and as you kids would say, don't do any stupid shit."

"Hey, that's one dollar for the swear jar," Chloe said jokingly.

Joyce smiled weakly and brought two cups. Rachel and Chloe grabbed them and walked to the drink dispenser. Max was thirsty too, the summer heat sucked out all the water from her body.

 _I want some drinks too; my mouth is so dry,_ Max thoughtbefore raising her finger in the air. However, Alyssa pushed through Warren and Brooke and started to order. "I want three jumbo burgers with bacon-cheese fries and a large drink."

At the same time, Nathan kicked open the door and entered the establishment. Unlike his friend beside him, he was looking sick, his face was pale, and his eyebrow twitched uncontrollably. Nathan didn't even notice Rachel and Chloe, who filled up their cups at the dispenser, which was surprisingly working.

"What the fuck, that fat monster is holding everyone up!" Nathan said, loud enough that everyone in the restaurant could hear him. He stepped behind Alyssa and started to film her slightly overweight body using his phone.

_That's so weird and creepy, what's his problem?_

"Hey, that was very inappropriate!" Joyce yelled as she handled a bag of food through the drive-through window. "And filming is not allowed in here. Either watch your language or get lost!"

Nathan spat on the ground like a cowboy in an old western movie. "Yeah, whatever. I want seven hamburgers and two large cups."

Joyce grabbed a few tissue papers from the metallic holder beside the cash register. "Clean up your mess, or I'm gonna make sure that you're gonna get banned from ever entering this place."

"First of all, my family will soon buy this establishment, so you better listen to me and don't ever tell me what to do," Nathan warned. "You could lose your job with the snap of my finger, and good luck ever finding a new one."

_Nathan needs to take a chill-pill, like c'mon!_

Joyce looked ready to kick Nathan out, but then Chloe came with a cup in her right hand while holding Rachel's with her other.

"Oh boy," Chloe smirked. "Someone forgot the most important rule, never fuck with the people who cook your food."

"Unless...," Rachel cut in. "...you want some extra special sauce, called saliva!"


	34. Chapter 34

Seeing that the queue was now so long that people were waiting outside, Joyce let Nathan order his burgers. After that, she brought three trays with food. Grabbing their food, Max and her friends sat down on one of the three free tables in the middle of the dining area. Max faced the counter, while Chloe and Rachel sat on the opposite of her. The two had a great view of the main road through the windows.

"Alright, Max." Chloe slurped on her drink. "Let's talk."

Max took a small bite of her cheeseburger. "I hope you got some answers, it was a crazy day for me."

Chloe shoved around eight fries in her mouth and then began to mumble. "Um, you, mm, recorded that video of the round thing. Show it to me."

"I can send it to you if you want." Max grimaced, the pickles in her burger were sour and crunchy; her face lit up in delight, they were tasty.

"Better not. These masked fuckers, who like my soon-to-be step-prick would say, invaded and then occupied our school today, probably tapped all the lines and control the internet. If they find out that... wait, let's talk about you first. " Chloe removed a pickle from her burger and let it dangle between her fingers. "Just tell me what you saw in the yard outside the school."

Like a dog eating food out of its owner's hands, Rachel snagged the pickle from Chloe's hands using her teeth. "Wait, not a good idea, what if they lip-read her?" Rachel said before looking at Max. "What do you see, over the drive-through window?"

Max scanned the area around the drive-through window. She noticed the three fryers to the right of it, and a camera, right above it. "Oh, you're talking about the camera?"

"Yes, she is, but c'mon, Rach, you're way too paranoid... but just to be sure, Max, come here." Chloe petted the chair to her right.

Max complied and sat down to Chloe's right, she was now facing the entrance, and the counter was to her left. "Okay, so, here is the video." As Max showed Chloe the twenty-two-second long video of the orb on her phone, she saw a familiar-looking, white SUV pulling up into the parking lot.

"Rachel, what do you see?" Chloe asked, pointing at Max's phone screen.

"Is that a mini-tornado?" Rachel fiddled around with her feather earring. "The leaves fly around something, but there is nothing in the center!"

"Alright, Max, what about you?"

"An orb… unnaturally black and weird," Max said. "What about you?"

"I see a wormhole that allows you to travel through time and space," Chloe revealed.

"As always, Chloe, straight to the point," Rachel commented, licking her salty, greasy fingertips.

Chloe shoved two-dozen fries in her mouth and then started to cough. "Mhmm, Max, we have something in common, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about."

"The tornado and Arcadia Bay, we share the same fate," Max said. She ripped the cheese, which was sticking out of the side of her burger out, and then ate it.

Chloe swallowed all the fries in one go and cleared her throat. "Das is right, white girl! There is just one more thing; you remember what happened at the schoolyard? You traveled into the forest. I suspect it was a second wormhole, but we couldn't see it, the damn vegetation acted as camouflage!"

"Okay, so...?" Max asked. She heard high-pitched girl noises outside. Also, Nathan and his African-American friend got their food and sat at the other free table near the windows.

Chloe shoved a stripe of bacon in her mouth and gnawed on it like a squirrel on a nut. "I have a theory, actually two. The first one is that someone is actively creating them."

"And the second?" Rachel shoved a single fry between her teeth like a cigar.

"Well, we gotta ask Max for that..." Chloe stole a fry from Rachel and ate it shamelessly. "Did you travel inside the one in the yard?"

 _Should I tell them the truth? I mean... they're clearly friendly to me... but... I don't know,_ Max wondered, saying, "Um, why are you asking?"

"Why are you avoiding my question? Are you trying to hide something? You know that we're not your enemy, right?" Chloe said.

"Unlike the masked man..." Rachel cut in.

"Just tell us the truth, Maxine. Did you travel inside it?"

_They are probably trying to test me, maybe Rachel saw me entering it. I better tell the truth._

"Yes," Max said. She noticed Victoria entering the restaurant with her posse.

"Good, at least you seem trustworthy," Chloe said.

Max sighed in relief and heard Victoria ordering a hamburger without pickles, a burger with two patties and no onions, medium fries with two packs of mayonnaise, and a triple Whacker with bacon. Her two minions' orders were even more complicated.

"Max, I can't really go near that school for now, and Rachel, she isn't like us, she can't get inside that wormhole. Can you do me a favor? Get inside the wormhole again and check the time. Just Google, what's the time or something, like you did before."

"And why exactly can't Rachel do it?" Max asked. She heard Victoria yelling, "Can you tell the people in the kitchen to hurry the fuck up?" to Joyce.

"Max! Use your brain!" Chloe said.

Max shrugged, shyly eating her fries.

"We think that only you two can see these orbs. I mean, I lived in L.A. until they opened this super-duper pompous Highschool here. Plus, my dad got offered the position as a D.A. here." Suddenly, Rachel giggled and pointed at Chloe. "But hey, I found this punk roaming around the abandoned hospital like a stray dog."

"Makes sense, I guess..." Max said.

It was getting louder and even more packed now. Nathan began to crush ice in his mouth and used his straw as a makeshift blowgun. Shards of crumbled ice flew all over the restaurant, mostly landing on Warren's hair. Luckily, Brooke quickly removed them.

 _This Brooke girl must have a massive crush on him. I shall stay away from Warren before she eats me alive,_ Max thought. She didn't want to talk anymore and began to nervously munch on her burger again.

"Okay, just one more question, Max. What do you remember after the storm, like the time between now and the time when the storm hit."

"I don't remember much. Everything was kinda foggy," Max said.

_I don't feel comfortable telling them that I went to a doctor and that I took these crazy pills to stop the panic attacks._

"Hmm, okay—" Chloe said but stopped talking when she heard Victoria complaining about the smell as she approached Alyssa's table.

"This table is reserved. Can you remove your fat-ass from this table before your chair breaks?" Victoria asked with her hands on her hips. Alyssa was sitting there alone, with three empty chairs beside her.

"Who the hell does she think she is?" Rachel angrily tossed the burger in her hands on her table. She stood up, ready to scold Victoria. But it was too late, Alyssa already walked away wiping away the tears in her eyes.


	35. Chapter 35

"I don't know what to think anymore. I feel like we found a glitch in the universe or something, like in a video game, and now everything is going corrupt," Max said.

"Whoa, nerd alert!" Chloe joked.

Meanwhile, near the windows, Nathan was now throwing fries at Warren, who sat a few tables behind Max. A single French fry landed in Max's hair. Laughter's erupted, but surprisingly, Victoria was busy with her burgers. Her face was all scrunched up.

"Fucking shit, my patty is undercooked!" Victoria suddenly complained loudly, as she shot of her chair. "I will get sick! I'm gonna sue this shithole of a restaurant!"

It seemed like Victoria yelling made Rachel and Chloe horny. They started moaning as they shoved their burgers in their mouths.

Victoria stood up and started to pound her table, causing the salt and peppershakers to roll off the table. "These dumb minimum wage workers can't even cook a fucking burger!"

Brooke started to record Victoria's freakout. Rachel yelled, "Feel free to give me a call if you need help pulling tapeworms out of your ass."

Chloe waited until Victoria looked at her and then started to kiss Rachel passionately and softly on the neck. Seeing that, Victoria responded with a, "Fuck you," and then walked up to the food counter, yelling insults. Rachel placed her hands on Chloe's hips and then started to kiss Chloe's bare throat.

"Dude, no, stop tickling me! You know that this is my weak spot!" Chloe yelled and giggled.

Joyce wasn't there, but a young, Latino-looking girl worker, approached from behind the counter and said to Victoria, "It's okay, the meat is cooked fine..."

"Are you retarded?" Victoria grabbed the patty from inside her burger and then slipped it out. She shoved the patty, which was now hanging between her fingers, right into the workers face. "Does this look well-done to you? It's pink in the middle!"

"Okay, okay! I—"

"Man, this place really likes to hire monkeys like you. Like seriously, you shitheads can't even cook a simple burger patty!" Victoria suddenly screamed, "You fucking useless waste of oxygen!"

The worker raised her hands defensively. "Okay, okay... I will make you a new one. No need to yell, please."

"I don't want you to make a new burger! I want the first one to be perfect." Victoria's face turned crimson. "Let me speak to the manager!"

"She's busy, please! I'll cook you a new burger!" The worker started to weep from being overwhelmed by Victoria's vicious behavior.

"You know what, two burgers for me, and two for my friends, and I want a gift card, then we're quit," Victoria said.

Joyce approached from the kitchen begin the counter. "No, this is not an all you can't eat buffet."

Victoria closed her eyes and then took a deep breath. She exploded; she threw the patty, clearly aiming at the worker, but she missed. The burger patty landed straight on Joyce's face and was sticking on her left eye. Rachel, whose hands were inside Chloe's crotch, saw that. Her mouth slowly gaped open before pushing Chloe away.

Chloe had the expression of someone who just woke up. She moaned, her eyes were half-open. "Mhmm, Rachel, why u stop? Come back..."

Chloe lunged to Rachel, who quickly pushed her back, pointing at Joyce, who removed the juicy meat from her face. The burger juice leaked down her face, like a tear running down a cheek.

"Umm... Chloe, Victoria just did that...are you kidding me," Max stuttered like a frightened little child.

"I see..." Chloe said calmly.

"I hate my mom for wanting to marry that prick, but she is still my mom." Chloe stood up and slowly approached Victoria from behind, mumbling, "No one does that to my mom."

Joyce wiped her face clean with the back of her hand. The patty slipped off her face and then dropped to the ground like a piece of turd. "What in god's name has gotten in you? Get out before I call the police!"

Victoria's friends saw Chloe sneaking up from behind. "Watch out, Vic! That punk is coming for your ass!" Courtney warned.

"Show me what you got, bitch!" Victoria yelled. She looked like an angry kitten, but without the fast reflexes.

Chloe punched Victoria in the face, causing her to stagger backward. Rachel rushed to the scene, saying, "Chlo! Stop it; we don't need even more attention right now. Remember what we found, the port-, you know what I'm talking about."

"You know what! Fuck everything!" Chloe screamed. Max could swear that a cold brush of wind hit her in the face.

Courtney and Taylor rushed to the stunned Victoria, preventing her from falling to the ground.

"Rachel, I can do whatever I want now—" Chloe stopped talking; she had dodge an incoming slap from Victoria. "—we literally found the perfect hiding place, only you, me, and—"

Victoria was out of breath already, and Max noticed that Joyce was gone, and then there was a slight, relatively cold breeze in the air. Also, a butterfly hovered under the ceiling and flew downward, resting on the monitor of the cash register. Anxiety filled Max, who watched as Chloe and Victoria savagely pulled on each other's hair until they both fell on the ground. Victoria managed to dig her nails into Chloe's cheeks; however, one of her manicured nails broke off. Chloe used the chance and held Victoria into a sexy chokehold from behind. Victoria's face was blue already when she pleaded, "I give up, you won! I get it!"

"Good girl," Chloe responded, letting go of Victoria.

Suddenly, Victoria spat in Chloe's face. "I know you would prefer Rachel's urine, but whatever," Victoria sneered.

And then another catfight on the ground started, but this time, Victoria's friends joined. They kicked Chloe into her ribs and kidneys. This was not good, so Rachel stepped in, literally, on Victoria's finger. Victoria screamed as loud as she could as the pain and shock set in. Her middle finger was broken, white bone stuck out of it as the finger dangled on her hand.

 _Holy dog,_ Max felt goosebumps all over her body and covered her mouth in shock. She and Rachel made eye contact for a moment. Chloe shrugged and then rubbed Rachel's back. "Self-defense, bitch!"

Obviously, everyone was filming already and enjoyed the show, especially the boys and Nathan. Nathan walked up to Victoria and said, "What the fuck, Vic?"


	36. Chapter 36

Chloe laughed. "Oh, thank god, the drug lord is here." She then stared at Victoria. "Maybe you can ask him for some pain meds, I'm sure he got something shoved up his ass."

Nathan approached Chloe, saying, "Watch your mouth, hoe. I could cut your throat right now, and no one would even bat an eye on your skank ass."

"You're outnumbered, crack-head. I'm sure everyone here would like to beat—"

"You wish!" Nathan pulled up his t-shirt, revealing a shiny and metallic object in his waistband. He then waved his hands and gestured at the crowd that gathered around them. "No one would dare to snitch on me, the Prescott's own the cops; we own all the pigs here."

"Oh, I… just for your info, Rachel's dad is the D.A., so—"

"Chloe, shush!" Rachel said. She placed his hand on Nathan's shoulder, gently pushing him away from Chloe. "I think we should get outside to get some fresh air."

Suddenly, Nathan pulled out a hunting knife with a long, sharp, serrated blade. He pointed the tip of the knife at the center of Chloe's face. "The fuck is wrong with you? Even if Rachel's dad is Jesus Christ himself, I don't care, I own everyone here!"

Chloe pushed Nathan's arm away and jumped over the counter to the kitchen. "Only pussies use knives. Fight like a man, you bastard!"

The whole kitchen was deserted, and light fog filled the air. Victoria was hyperventilating on the ground while her friends were calling the ambulance. _If they tell the dispatcher what happened, the police will come too. Chloe should better leave now,_ Max thought. For a second, she could swear she smelled some grass mixed with burnt meat.

A few high-pitched shrieks were heard when Nathan jumped over the counter. Walking backward, Chloe grabbed the ballpoint pen that was lying beside the cash register, before bumping against the hot, bubbling fryer with her butt.

_Chloe could jump out of the drive-through window right now. But I don't think she will try to escape without Rachel._

Hearing sirens blaring in the distance, Nathan turned around. Then, his legs went limp, and he dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes. "My legs! I can't feel my legs! I'm fucking paralyzed!"

Nathan landed on his stomach, revealing a pen stuck inside his spine like a dart inside a dartboard. He pushed his hands against the slippery ground, trying to stand up, but nada. Realizing that he was now a paraplegic, and possibly confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life, Nathan started to scream until his voice was raspy and hoarse. Max felt dizzy, and her stomach rumbled as cold sweat formed on her face.

Thankfully, Nathan's haunting screams made Victoria shut up. Courtney placed a plastic bag filled with ice blocks on her broken finger, while Taylor was soothing her and hugging her. "Everything will be fine. This cunt will pay for this!"

 _I'm gonna go to the toilet,_ Max thought. She saw that Chloe looked kinda distorted; she was thin as a toothpick, tall as a basketball player, and bent like a banana.

"Watch out!" Rachel warned, seeing Nathan crawling toward Chloe like a zombie.

Chloe tried to snatch the knife out of Nathan's hand, but Nathan was faster. The blade went deep into Chloe's arm and sliced open her wrist. Chloe retaliated by kicking him in the forehead, causing his whole skull to cave in. Despite now being unconscious, the knife was still clutched tightly in Nathan's right hand, and the sharp edge was pointing up in the air.

"Shit-shit-shit, I didn't mean to, that was self-defense too, right?" Chloe asked, pacing back and forth as blood dripped from her hand.

"Don't worry, the cameras." Rachel pointed at the camera in the left corner. "He tried to stick you an inch!"

Chloe breathed a sigh of relief and then noticed that the police and ambulance just pulled into the parking lot. "Let's fuck off."

Chloe then ran to Max, whispering, "Change of plans, meet me at the orb in the yard, seven PM today, just walk inside it!"

Max nodded before rushing into the girls' bathroom. Small bits of undigested food went up her sinuses as she projectile vomited into the sink. This made her eyes water and caused her to contemplate her life decisions that led up to this point. It felt like an eternity, but the nausea eventually stopped. Max gargled on tap water until her mouth was clean and then left the bathroom.

_Wowser, I feel so much better now after vomiting._

Leaving the bathroom, Max wanted to turn left and leave the restaurant. But there was a guy outside, wearing a black uniform and a cap.

 _That's David, the guy who locked my bike! I literally destroyed his chain; I better hide from him,_ Max thought, casually walking into the dining room. _Wait... why didn't I just go back into the bathroom! Damned, my brain is useless!_

As Chloe walked to the door, David slammed open the door, hollering, "Everyone, on the ground!" He sounded like a bear.

"It's not how it looks, babe," Chloe responded sarcastically. Max heard her whisper, "We need to get past him."

Rachel pointed at the drive-through window, suggesting, "Let's jump out."

Sadly, a police officer appeared outside the drive-through window. He got out of his car angrily as if he wanted a doughnut but didn't get one. "Put your hands behind your head and kneel down," he ordered to Chloe. He successfully climbed through the window.

David saw blood gushing out of Nathan's ears and then stared at Chloe's gored arm. "Let me guess, Chloe. You did that to him. At least we finally got ya!"

Max looked up at the camera and managed to find some courage. "Mister David, look, there is a camera, and I saw how Nathan tried to stab her with a knife."

"That might be true, but she's still wanted for the crimes she committed this morning. Actions have consequences, missy," David said. "Now listen to my advice, do what policemen behind you tells you. Believe me, you don't want to add resisting arrest to your charges. If you continue like this, you'll never see the light of the day again."

Rachel rubbed Chloe's back. "Do what he says, I'll call my dad, I'm sure we can work on a deal."

Chloe nodded after sighing. "Damn... there is really no way out of this... I guess you're right. Better get this shit over with now, living as a fugitive sucks."

David gently kicked Nathan's lifeless body. "If that's true… " He then looked at Max. "...what you said, then he is gonna be behind bars for a long time." 

A weak smile formed on Max's face, but it didn't last long. The kitchen filled with thick smoke as the meat started to char on the unsupervised grills. When the smoke detector started to beep, a tall man wearing a suit and glasses, walked into the restaurant. Behind him, two masked men. One held a laptop in his hand, saying, "The anomaly is definitely inside here. One of these kids is causing them!"

When the man in the suit saw Nathan, he yelled, "Oh my god, my son is hurt! Bloody murderer! Who did this?"

Victoria was on the verge of passing out. She pointed at Chloe with her eyes half-open. "Mister Prescott! It was her; she kicked him in the head when he was on the ground!"

_And of course, Victoria has to make this whole situation worse. I need to get out of here._

Mister Prescott's eyes wandered over the police officers surrounding Chloe. "You know the routine; no one leaves this place!" He then pointed at Chloe impatiently, saying, "What are you waiting for? Arrest her!"

The police officer placed his right hand on his gun holster. "Alright, Miss Price. You are under arrest on suspicion of murdering Nathan Prescott. You do not—"

Chloe interrupted him. "Hey... what? Murder? Like c'mon, you're overreacting now. Did you hear what Max—" Chloe suddenly pointed at the camera, and when everyone looked at it, she bolted.

 _Man... Nathan must be really hated. No one even bothers to check his pulse,_ Max thought. She watched how Chloe failed to dodge David's cat-like reflex. David grabbed her, but Rachel kicked him in the balls, so Chloe managed to get free. Chloe tried to jump over Victoria, who was lying on the ground with her legs extended. Suddenly, Victoria raised her right leg, causing Chloe to face-plant into the ground.

Chloe rolled to the left toward the girls' bathroom, and then ran back to the dining area and jumped over the counter. "Mom, I think I need your help. Where the hell are you? I'm in deep shit here."

The police officer pointed his Taser at Chloe, and when she was near Nathan, he pressed the trigger. The electric darts hit and attached itself to her body, creating a powerful 50000-volt electric shock that confused Chloe's central nervoussystem. Her whole body stiffened up before falling on top of Nathan.

"This is the end of the line, Chloe. Just give up already, you can't continue like this..." David pleaded, but Chloe didn't react.

"He's right, fight your case in court, better be judged by six than six feet under," police officers added.

Again, Chloe didn't react, and everyone went silent. Nathan snored loudly; it was a death rattle. Blood poured out of his mouth like a fountain every time he tried to breathe. And then, a second pool of bright, oxygenated blood formed under them. The smell of iron filled the air, and Max began to panic. Her heart raced, it felt like her chest was going to explode. 

"Oh, no!" Max screamed, seeing Rachel undressing her shirt and pressing it against Chloe's gaping wound. She raised her right hand, and her vision went blurry until she was back in her old room in Arcadia Bay.

 _Okay, they're busy with two dying people, no one will care when they hear my thoughts leaking out._ Max rushed to her door; it was locked. _I need my mom or dad; they might be able to help me._

Like a bull charging on a matador, Max stepped away from her door and then ran toward it, and kicked it open. It worked, but then her mouth hung open. The faint buzzing noise turned into the sound of a hurricane, and there was a wall of cloud, moving to the right, it extended indefinitely in each direction. She looked back; her room was just a box, made out of white stone. And then she saw it, the wall of cloud was actually surrounding Max. She was in the eye of a hurricane. It was hard to judge the distance of the diameter of the eye because the clouds looked all the same. However, the wall didn't look curved at all, suggesting that the eye was the size of a planet.


	37. Chapter 37

_Holy cow, what is this place?_ "Mom? Dad? Are you here?"

Max touched the storm wall, it felt like being zapped by an electric fly swatter. She flinched back and saw small, black orbs. They were placed in a row and floated right at the edge of the storm. It seemed like they were attached to the wall of the cloud.

 _These are wormholes,_ Max realized as she got closer to the orb to her left. Looking inside, it looked like someone took a photo of the dining area from the cash register. Max saw herself, the students, and David, standing in the dining area frozen in time.

Max approached the next orb to the left. This time, she got a clear view of the dining room from above; it felt like she was watching through a camera, which was hovering right under the ceiling. Also, the scene was moving like in a movie. The police officer was shooting his Taser at Chloe before time froze again.

 _That's when Chloe landed on Nathan._ _What would happen if I walk inside?_ Walking three more orbs to the left, Max saw Chloe running away from David and then stumbling over Victoria.

_Wait, so the left wormholes mean that I'm going further back in time? Let's see what happens in my future._

Max checked out the next 24 orbs to the right; they all showed the same scene of Max frozen in time with her right hand raised as Chloe and Nathan were dying on the ground.

_So, the future hasn't happened yet. Maybe I'm the furthest of Maxes in the future. Am I in the center of time or something? Like a control center? Maybe, I can save Chloe from getting killed? And Nathan too? I mean, he is an asshole, but no one deserves death..._

Max walked to the left and passed 50 orbs. It felt like she walked across a football field. The 51st orb showed Max from above in the restaurant, running toward the bathroom to puke.

_It's like in a damn video game, are you kidding me? What kind of sick joke is the universe doing to me?_

Max decided to jump into the wormhole. At first, she felt the heat, and then smelled the meat. She was back in the restaurant and fell on the ground. The police and ambulance were just pulling into the parking lot, and Chloe said, "Let's fuck off."

_I just traveled back in time and replaced the younger Max? Wowser._

Max ran toward Chloe and pointed at the entrance door. "You need to get out! The police just arrived outside!"

"Oh shit, what do we do? Any plans?" Chloe asked, frantically looking around at the kitchen. "Where did my—"

"Let's jump out of the drive-through window!" Max suggested.

"I was thinking the same! Good idea!" Rachel said. She grabbed Chloe's hand, and they ran past Nathan, who was still suffering from a life-threatening skull fracture.

Stopping at the window, Chloe said, "Ladies first," watching Rachel climbing out of the window.

"David is coming!" Max warned, hearing David storming into the restaurant.

Max followed Chloe and climbed on the window still. For a moment, she hesitated. _Damn... should I really let Nathan die? I mean, I could—_

Chloe interrupted Max's thoughts. "What do you mean?"

 _What is she talking about?_ Max wondered as she jumped through the window into the drive-through road.

"What the fuck?" Chloe and Rachel froze. "Yeah, how did you do that?"

"What?" Max asked. She heard the sound of a car approaching rapidly around the corner. "Let's leave. The police officer in his car will be here any second!"

"I swear, you were talking with your mouth closed!" Rachel said, biting her lip.

"Um," _I don't know..._ "This is dumb; I don't know what is happening to me anymore!"

"Okay, Max! Let's find a place where we can hide so we can talk in peace," Rachel said, pointing at the green field across the streets with all the trees. "Let's hide in the park."

The people doing picnics on the grass were shaking their heads as the three girls run across the field. Kids were skating on the ramps in the distance, and a strange thought entered Max's mind. It was an image of the dining room, and many people stared at Max dumbfounded.

Max started to whisper to herself as blood dripped from her nose. "What is happening, where do these memories come from?"

Arriving at the skatepark, Chloe fist-bumped the skater boy, who wore glasses and a red cap. The other skater boy was skating up and down at the ramp. Max stared in awe as he flew high up in the air before landing back on his skateboard. But then another thought entered her mind. People now surrounded Max, their faces were blurry, and they all pointed at the drive-through window.

The skater with the red cap, who Max thought looked kinda cute, said, "Yo, what's up, Chloe! Here to do some crazy stunts with us? Or just to calm your mind? I got some good dope!"

"Nah, I'm on the run! I might've just killed the rich-bitch, aka Nathan." Chloe wrapped her arm around Max's neck. "By the way, Max, that's Justin. Justin, that's Max"

 _Wowser, he is growing a beard,_ Max thought. Suddenly, everyone laughed, except Justin, who looked kinda stoned with his bloodshot eyes.

"Whoa, that is an awesome magic trick! Woo hoo! Max is cool as fuck!" Suddenly, Justin skated down the ramp and jumped far up in the air. His skateboard spun underneath his feet as a cloud of smoke followed him.

A sharp pain in her head caused Max to stumble backward. Rachel had to catch her. Another memory intruded her mind; it was an image of Warren, talking non-stop. Max heard Warren's voice, "They're on the skate park, I swear!"

"Why would they go there?" Max wondered.

"What do you mean?" Chloe asked.

Max said, "I think Warren is coming here," as David's face was visible in her mind. He was talking and questioning her, just like the police officer beside him. Blood ran out of Max's nose like a waterfall as an image of people drinking wine and eating food on a blanket flashed across her visual field.

"What do you mean? What is going on! I want an explanation, Maxine!" Chloe said.

"Justin! Give me your shirt!" Rachel yelled to Justin, who complied with her order. Rachel rolled his white shirt like a joint and pressed it against Max's nose to stop the bleeding.

"I don't know how to explain, I traveled back in time! These orbs, someone is creating them. And Mister Prescott is somehow involved too! They have a device to detect them!" 

"Okay, you're really freaking me out now! Nathan's fucking dad? What are you talking about?" Chloe asked. She blushed, seeing Justin's bare chest.

"Maybe she caught a whiff of Justin's weed?" another skater who appeared from behind suggested. "I think this freckled girl is high as fuck. And I want whatever she has!"

Then, a freckled girl slowly appeared from the field. She was short and slouching and held a camera in her hand. Beside her walked a boy with messy hair. His eyes shot open. "No way!"


	38. Chapter 38

Chloe and Rachel spotted the girl too. She looked exactly like Max and stood beside Warren, who suddenly whispered something into her ear. A thought flooded Max, it was a whisper, saying, "I didn't know you had a twin! How cool is this?"

Everyone stared; Max and the other Max slowly approached each other, it looked like a human and an alien meeting each other for the first time. Chloe stepped in between the two Maxes. "This is the craziest shit I've ever seen, not even the wormholes can match this, fuck!"

"So... just to clear things up," Rachel said, pointing at the Max beside Warren. "You're our Max, right? Or no, I think, no, yes, if you—"

"From my point of view, she is my younger self," Max said, pointing at the Max beside Warren. "Chloe, I saw how you died in the restaurant, and then somehow, I traveled into the eye of a storm. I'm literally from the future!"

_What would happened if—_

"Your thoughts are leaking out, and I know what do you want to try." The younger Max suddenly pulled out her camera and snapped a photo of Chloe, who was in the middle of lighting a joint. "Check your photos."

Max pulled out her camera and saw a photo of Chloe, lighting a joint. "I get it now, younger Max."

"This is so insane, can we try another experiment? Anyone got a—" Rachel was interrupted by a German Shepard jumping out of a nearby shrub. It barked fiercely, as it sprinted toward Chloe. Voices were heard in the distance, "There she is, remember what she did to Nathan! She's dangerous!"

It was the police, and one officer yelled, "Go get her, doggo!"

Chloe stayed cool and jumped on top of the skater ramp, and helped Rachel up too. The two Maxes stood frozen. Max remembered every single moment, the primal fear of getting bit by a canine, and how the dog tried to jump on top of the ramp but failed because the edge was too high.

When the dog realized it couldn't catch Chloe, it started to run around wildly and aimlessly. Then, it approached the younger Max and sniffed her feet. Warren thought it was trying to get a taste of her, so he pushed the younger Max into safety and then wrestled the dog to the ground. The dog managed to bite him in the throat.

"Max, the campus orb at eight PM tonight, walk inside!" Chloe yelled. She and Rachel jumped off the ramp and disappeared behind it.

The police officers arrived. Warren screamed in pain as the dog was now using his upper arm as a chew-toy. Luckily for him, Brooke appeared. She grabbed a nearby skateboard, and then beat the shit out of the dog until its spine turned into jelly. All four wheels snapped off the skateboard, one rolled right under a police officer's feet, who then slipped on it, before landing head-first on the hard ground. His skull split open like a coconut. One of the other officers ordered his dog back, leaving Warren lying on the ground, passed out from blood loss.

Shocked by the scene, the younger Max dropped her camera. It landed on the concrete beside the ramp and broke into pieces. All of its electronic components scattered all over the grass. Staring like a deer caught in headlights, Max checked her pockets and noticed that her camera was still functioning and in good shape. "Wait a moment, your... no, our camera is destroyed! But I still have mine, and it's working!"

"What will happen now?" the younger Max asked. She used the skater boy's bloodied shirt to stop Warren's throat from bleeding. "This place is so violent, like holy crap!"

Suddenly, the debris of the camera turned black before forming into a zigzagged line, which was pulsating as it slowly grew in size. A few seconds later, it looked like a black lightning, which was slowly taking over the area like a spider web in a cave.

"Max, look," Max yelled to her younger self.

"I ruined this whole reality!" The younger Max stood there speechless, watching how the cracks expanded across the sky. "We just created a paradox!"

The police were worried too, Chloe was no longer a priority for them. The cracks swallowed Warren and the dog first and then started to consume the ramps, so everyone started to run.

"We caused this, you have to go back in time," the younger Max said, out of breath running beside her future self.

"You're right! I have to go back into my room in Arcadia bay!" Max said, holding her camera tight in her hands.

"Remember what you did when you were angry at David for locking your bike!" the younger Max said.

Max stopped and raised her right arm, she saw the cracks behind her. It felt like being stuck inside a solid block of glass, which started to crack from the inside out. Blinking and thinking about Arcadia bay, Max was suddenly back in her old room. She ran outside into the eye of the hurricane or whatever it is and checked out the orbs. The orbs to her right were all black, while the left ones showed the two Maxes in the skatepark.

_I think... three Maxes are too many. What if I go back further back? Let's see if I can save Nathan._

Max turned left and walked along the orbs until she saw the scene where she jumped into the dining room. She saw two Maxes, one running inside the bathroom, the other, toward Chloe, yelling, "You need to get out! The police just arrived outside!"

_That was such a fail. I think... I should try to prevent Victoria from slapping Joyce with her undercooked patty..._

Max continued walking along the orbs, until she saw herself arriving at Burger Queen, parking her bike at the racks.

_I think this is the perfect moment. I just have to... uh... prevent Victoria from entering, or I could try to get Chloe out. Or maybe I just warn my younger self?_

Max walked in and landed beside her bike. She could see Rachel grabbing the younger Max and skipping the line with her.

 _Okay, now what? I got my camera and my phone._ Max checked out the contacts on her phone. _I could call Rachel and warn her too. So many options..._

Suddenly, it was eerily silent. The kids stopped playing at the child's playground; they were all standing in a row leaning against the railing and stared at Max.

"I forgot, my thoughts are leaking out while I'm in another time- timeline or reality or whatever," Max whispered to herself. "Let's try something."

Max visualized a kitten _meowing_ and then imagined Patrick Star loudly saying, _who you callin' Pinhead?_

All the kids widened their eyes, one small boy yelled, "Mommy, mommy, this girl makes Sponge-bobby noises! Mom!" as he ran inside Burger Queen.

Max giggled. She pulled out her camera and started to record her face. "I wanna hear it for myself." 

Max imagined train tracks in the middle of a desert. Then, a train speeding past her as the sun settled on the horizon. She imagined herself taking a photo of it using her Polaroid camera as the train driver blared his horn. Suddenly, the kids screamed, some covered their ears, and the patrons inside Burger Queen rushed to the exit. Max quickly ran to a nearby bush beside the drive-through and hid inside it.

 _"Don't_ think," Max whispered to herself.


	39. Chapter 39

As Max hid inside the bush, a sharp pain shot through her head. Followed soon, a memory of an ear-splitting train horn, blasting right outside the entrance of burger queen. Max remembered going outside with all the other patrons. She wondered what the hell is going on, and if there's actually a train.

"The train tracks are near the abandoned buildings. That's like three miles away from here," Chloe spoke first.

"I know... but it sounded so close." Rachel rested her head on Chloe's shoulder.

Max remembered looking around and seeing an antenna on the roof of and distant building being struck by a single lightning. "Did you see that?" the younger Max asked.

"No clouds, but lightning strikes, huh. Something is happening, Max," Chloe said to the younger Max. "But I'm still super hungry; no way I'm going to leave now. Let's eat first."

Max snorted. "Chloe is literally _starving_ ," she whispered to herself.

The parents ordered their kids to go back playing at the playground, while the other patrons went back inside the restaurant. Max adjusted her position in the bush and pushed a few small branches away so that she could see the inside of Burger Queen through the windows. She only got a view from the site, but at least Nathan's empty table was visible.

 _Nathan will be here soon_ , "With so much violence going on here, I can understand why he armed himself," Max whispered.

Loud music blasted in the distance, making Max's chest vibrate. It came from a limousine driving on the main road. It was super long; the chassis was so low that its rear scraped against the speed bump as it pulled into the parking lot. The chauffeur had a big mustache and left the vehicle first. He opened the back right passenger door, and as Max suspected, it was Nathan and his friend stepping out of the limo.

"Here comes the crazy boy. I'll let him enter, better not _mess_ _with him_ ," Max whispered.

Suddenly, Nathan froze and stared in Max's direction. "Mess with what? There is that voice again! Did you hear that? Someone is hiding in the bush! Fuck! He's following me!"

Then, Max heard a familiar voice, "Lower your voice, and get your ass back here!" It was Mister Prescott yelling from inside the limousine.

Nathan walked to the front passenger door and waited until the window rolled down before resting his arms on it. "What the fuck do you want, man?"

"Hey, stop being so disrespectful, you little shithead. How often do I have to repeat myself? It's sir, not man!" Mister Prescott slammed open the passenger door, hitting Nathan's knee. "Did you forgot to take your meds this morning, or why are you behaving like a spastic today?"

"The fuck is your problem?" Nathan asked, rubbing his throbbing knee. "Umm… I mean, sir."

"I'm staring at it right now." Mister Prescott glared at Nathan and then pointed at Burger Queen. "If you go in there and hurt someone again, then I'm going to be the one who has to bail your pathetic ass out of jail."

"C'mon, what are they gonna do? We own the cops here." Nathan did a 180-degree turn and walked away. "Let's fuck off," he said to his friend.

"Hold on, did I give you my permission to walk away?" Mister Prescott asked. He then whispered something to the chauffer sitting on the driver seat.

Rolling his eyes, Nathan walked back to his father. "Listen, dude, you didn't even give me the order to stay here with you, so just leave me alone."

Mister Prescott raised his right arm in the air, and pimp slapped his son. It sounded like a gunshot echoing through the street. "Understand now?"

A bloody handprint formed on Nathan's left cheek. "Y- sir… yeah."

Mister Prescott winced in pain as he inspected his palm. "What did I tell you this morning? The first word out of your mouth is going to be sir, the last one out if your mouth is also, sir!"

Stunned and holding his face in pain, Nathan said, "Sir..., yes, sir," before walking inside the restaurant.

 _Damn,_ "Maybe this will calm him down? Or maybe he's going to be even angrier now?" Max wondered. She saw a single tear rolling down Nathan's face as she hunkered down in the bush. A few moments later, she saw Nathan sitting down near the window with his friend.

As Max continued waiting, the smell of old food hit her nose. It came from inside of an old paper bag, filled with leftover fries and some rotten lettuce. "When shit gets real, I'm just gonna make really loud and _terrifying noises_ to lure them out," Max whispered.

A white SUV pulled up in the distance, filled up with three teenage girls and one tired woman. They also pulled into the parking lot and parked right on the disabled parking bay. Victoria exited the car first with ice cream in her hand. Her friends walked close behind her like two ducklings following their mommy.

Suddenly, Victoria stopped and stared at the main road. "Look! It's Nathan's father!"

Courtney was staring at her phone like a zombie and didn't notice Victoria stopping. She bumped right into Victoria's back and dropped her ice cream to the ground. "Oops, shit, my bad."

Taylor also didn't pay any attention and bumped straight into Courtney, smearing her vanilla ice cream all over the back of Courtney's shirt. "Sorry!"

"Got any of that shit on my shirt?" Courtney asked.

Taylor shrugged, and her face turned red. "Nope, everything is clear, and I'm not hungry anymore." She suddenly threw the rest of her ice cream into the nearby child's playground.

Victoria followed Taylor's suit, her strawberry-citrus ice cream landed straight on a little girl's head. The little girl started to cry and ran back inside the restaurant, calling for her mom. The cone was stuck on her head; it looked like someone glued it on it. 

"Hmm, I don't remember that crying kid," Max whispered. "Maybe... oh yeah, the limousine was here longer, because I scared Nathan. So maybe, in the other timeline, _Victoria didn't stop_ , because she didn't spot the limo."

Around half a minute later, Max was watching a grasshopper jumping from twig to twig, when suddenly screeching noises were heard inside Burger Queen. Then, Max remembered how that ice cream covered girl complained to her mom. Followed soon, a short argument involving Victoria and the little girl's mom, which ended up with Victoria devilishly laughing at the kid.

"What would happen if I just go back in time when I was born? Or maybe I go back even further? Like to the 1900s or something? How cool would that be?"

Hearing a high-pitched buzzing in her right ear, Max suddenly remembered how Nathan pressed his cold drink against his cheek to numb the pain. "I'm getting _impatient_."

Nathan didn't throw anything around this time, but still, Max remembered Victoria complaining about her undercooked patty. "I kinda understand why Nathan is so angry _; his dad is such a prick_. That slap was totally unnecessary!" Max whispered.

A mosquito landed on Max's right wrist, she slapped that little bloodsucker flat. "I could do so many things. I'm literally a time traveler now, like Doctor Who," Max whispered.

Her wrist started to swell and itch from the mosquito bite. "Chloe and Nathan possibly died, but it never happened. I'm the only one who knows about that."

Another memory shot through Max's head. It was Victoria screaming at the Latino-worker with the undercooked patty, so Max decided it's time to intervene. "I need a better view, but I don't wanna reveal myself."

Feeling heroic, Max grabbed the paper bag and used her fingernails to cut two holes in it so that she could see through it. She put the bag over her head and realized that she forgot the empty its contents. Max ran to the entrance. The old food landed on top of her head, and fries leaked out of the sides.

"Alright, now I just need to make a sound that will stop them from fighting!"


	40. Chapter 40

Max imagined Mister Prescott standing in a dark alley, yelling, _I am Mister Prescott, and I am super angry, stop fighting, uh, you are useless, no, I- I didn't mean to say that. I will come in, and I will not be very friendly._ Then, she remembered that super scary voice coming from outside the restaurant. It sounded deep and manly, similar to Mister Prescott. Followed soon, images of Nathan falling off his chair to the floor, where he curled down into a fetal position.

"Damn, that's bad, but at least no one died. My job here is done," Max whispered, remembering how Chloe and Victoria stopped fighting on the ground. "Let's travel back in time."

Raising her right arm and then blinking, Max was back in her old room. She rushed outside into the eye of that hurricane. The orbs to the right showed Max herself standing outside the restaurant with her right arm raised as time was frozen.

 _So how do I go back to... myself, the original Max? … Oh wait,_ _this time, I will simply not jump into any orbs. I will go back into my room and then raise my right arm!_

Max jogged back to the big, white stone box and opened the stone door. Inside her room, she blinked and then sat inside the restaurant. She instantly looked outside and saw a girl with a paper bag, right hand raised while slowly fading into nothingness.

_There is a delay; I am really messing with time right now._

Max was actually impressed with herself, but that feeling didn't last long. Stopping the fight had consequences; Nathan was having some kind of nervous breakdown. He was now sitting at a table, yelling,"This is the final solution. No more fucking demons and voices that hunt me in my sleep! And my father, fuck him. I'm just gonna end it right here, that will teach him a lesson!" 

Victoria slowly approached Nathan, kneeled down in front of him, and placed her hand on his knee. "How about this: put that shit away, and we talk like we always do? I call Frank; he got dem pills that will wash away the pain!"

Nathan started to hyperventilate and pulled out his hunting knife."You don't understand! It doesn't matter. You can't make him go away! He's outside!" He placed his knife on the table and spun it as if he was playing spin the bottle.

Victoria's eyes widened. "Huh, who are you talking about?" She stood up and looked through the windows. "There is no one there! Look, it's just us!"

Nathan shook his head. "Fuck, that's even worse! He's in here already! He knows... I bet we already saw him!" The chair tipped as Nathan jumped in the air. He walked backward until he bumped against the corner of the dining room. "Maybe we even talked to him already! Maybe he killed every one of us already... fuck this planet, man!" 

Victoria approached Nathan again with her hands defensively in the air. "What do you mean? Who is here?"

"It doesn't matter, I probably already told you." Nathan extended his arm and waved his knife at the crowd that formed around him. "Fuck this shit and fuck every one of you! I won't make it easy for him, no way!" 

Victoria sighed. "You know what, I give up." She walked back to her two friends and crossed her arms. "He probably has a psych- psychotic breakdown or some shit. Someone call the ambulance."

Rachel sighed too. "I guess it's my turn then." She suddenly walked toward Nathan, but Chloe grabbed her hand and slowly pulled her to herself. 

"C'mon, he isn't our problem. Let's leave before the pigs arrive," Chloe said, suddenly pulling Rachel into a hug before giving her a kiss on the lips. "Don't risk your life for this fuckwit."

"That punk-ass bitch is right, fuck-fuck-fuck! I need to get out. It's my problem, only mine!" Nathan started to shake; he ran the knife over his wrist. The blade penetrated his skin, creating a scratch wound across his wrist. 

"Nonono! Wait!" Victoria walked back to Nathan and pulled out a bag of weed. "C'mon, man, look! Just one doobie and everything is going to be fine!"

Nathan slapped Victoria's hand; the bag of weed flew away and landed under a table. Chloe ran to it like a dog chasing a ball and said, "Mine now."

A few drops of blood dripped out of Nathan's wrist. One guy in the crowd yelled, "C'mon, you pussy! It's across the road, not down the road!" 

Max noticed that the counter was deserted, no Joyce, and any other workers. Her face dropped into sadness; she felt guilty for messing with Nathan like that. _I could travel back in time again, should I do it?_

Hearing everyone shrieking as Nathan struggled to cut through the tendons and ligaments in his throat, Max knew the answer was yes. Blood gushed out of his neck like a waterfall as she raised her right hand. Back in the eye of the hurricane, Max turned left and walked along beside the orbs. She looked inside every one of them. It started with Nathan cutting his throat, Chloe grabbing the bag of weed, and Victoria trying to calm Nathan down. But then something weird happened, the scene changed, a view of the bathroom area, followed by a close-up shot of the only tilted window near the entrance. The next fifty or so orbs showed the other Max hiding inside the bush outside, and that's when Max decided to jump in one of them.

The other Max jumped in shock and turned around. "Whoa! Oh, dog! You're here... that means something bad happened in the future! Tell me!"

"That's right, something horrible. Nathan will kill himself with his knife!" Max said. "You will pretend to be his father using your, no, our think-aloud superpower! Don't do that!"

"Uh, okay..." the other Max in the bush nodded with her mouth hanging open. "You know, there are now three Maxes."

Max nodded slowly. "Yep... I better go back now. I think, just try to lure Chloe and Rachel out and away from this place."

The Max in the bush nodded. "I will try my best."

"Good luck." Max raised her arm and went back into her room. This time, she didn't bother to check out the orbs. She stood in her old room, thinking about Seattle, and then raised her right arm while blinking. Now back in the restaurant again, Max watched Chloe and Victoria's catfight on the ground. Rachel ran to Victoria, ready to step on her finger. But then, a voice was heard outside. It sounded like Victoria's mom. "Please, stop fighting. Come out! I am Victoria's mom! I'm a little mad right now!"

_Wowser, this is so weird and unsettling. Is this me outside? My f- future or past or what?_

The girls stopped fighting when another voice was heard outside. It sounded like Joyce this time. Max remembered imagining Joyce behind the counter, yelling, "Attention, there are worm- things, you know what I mean. Chloe and Rachel, and... Max! Walk inside the one, you know where, at The Vortex, High School!"

Everyone froze, Chloe pushed Victoria away. She and Rachel ran off outside. "Max! Follow us!" 

Following Chloe outside, Max saw the other Max with the paper bag outside near the entrance, raising her right arm and then fading into nothingness. Chloe jumped on her moped and had to kick start it a few times before the engine turned on. Rachel jumped on the backseat as they sped off across the grass toward the main road.

 _I saved them using time travel. It's like in the movies,_ Max thought.

It seemed like Chloe skipped the "look left and right before crossing a road" part in school. At least, the rapidly approaching tanker driver was attentive. He quickly reacted and drove onto the oncoming lane and passed the two girls. Seeing the oncoming traffic approaching, the driver steered to the right but jerked the wheel too much. His tanker overturned and skidded over the two lanes until it came to a stop right before an intersection. The silo-shaped container was dented, and an unknown liquid started to spill out of it, all over the road. All alarm bells rang inside Max's head when she noticed the highly flammable sticker slapped on the back.

 _Man… the grim-reaper really wants to get Chloe and Rachel,_ Max thought. She took a photo of the tanker and watched Chloe driving onto the sidewalk to pass it. _This whole place is suddenly going to hell. It's like everyone here has bad luck or something!_

All the windows shattered, thanks to the massive shockwave coming from the tanker. It engulfed in flames, just like the driver who turned into a human torch. His burned skin was hanging off his face and body as he climbed out of the crushed cabin. He didn't even scream; his burns reached deep to the bone, all the nerves were burned away. Max was saddened by the scene; she covered her face with her palms and moaned. _That was my fault again! I need to travel back in time._ With her right arm raised, Max blinked and ran outside to the orbs. The ones to the right showed Max frozen in time with the sky engulfed in flames.

_Time to fix the mess I caused._

Max walked back to the left orbs until she saw the two Maxes in the bush. She jumped in and said, "Uh, hello! Just ignore me, do what you did before, it was okay. I just need to prevent a truck accident, no big deal."

The two other Maxes kept their silence, while Max felt dizzy as she ran along the main street toward where the tanker came from. Max could see in the distance how Chloe and Rachel left the restaurant in a hurry and jumped on their moped. The tanker too appeared eventually; Max waved her hands and then stepped with one leg on the street. The tanker slowed down and the driver rolled down the passenger window.

"Hey, what are you doing? Stop blocking the road!" he yelled. He wore a red hat that had "USA" written on it.

Max just smiled shyly and heard the moped behind her driving off in the distance. "Thanks for stopping; you probably just saved two lives!" _And your own too._

"What are you talking about? Listen, you little brat! I'm late already; I'm getting paid per hour! Don't waste my time!"

_Mission accomplished._


End file.
